


A Mind of His Own: A Sans Story

by Anonymous1202



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell, Alternate Universe - Underswap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-23 06:00:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6107281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonymous1202/pseuds/Anonymous1202
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A troubled Sans is struggling to keep his secrets hidden, but when they finally see the light of day, can he keep himself from falling apart? With the help of friends, can he conquer his greatest fears and achieve his greatest desires?</p><p>I'm sorry guys, this story is being put on hold. For now, I can't do more of it. Not sure that it'll return. <3 Thanks for the love. I'm sorry, this storyline has burned out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Once Upon a Time...

Sans picked up his bottle, eyes wandering around Grillby's. His favorite place. All his buddies, sitting around, half-drunk, or passed out. It was almost funny, everyone drowned their sorrows in beer. Not him, though. He didn't like the taste. Ketchup, now that was the good stuff.  
  
Suddenly he felt vibrations in his pocket, and removed his cell phone. It was Papyrus.  
  
“Hey bro, what's up?”  
  
“Sans! When are you coming home? You've been gone way longer than an hour.”  
  
“Alright Pap, I'm on my way.”  
  
The phone hung up with a click. He downed the rest of his bottle.  
  
“Hey Grillby, I've gotta run, Pap's waiting on me, I'll see you tomorrow.”  
  
The fire-man waved as Sans climbed down from his stool, waving bye to all his buddies as he exited. Various calls of “Bye Sans!” “Seeya Sansy!” “Have a good night, buddy!” rang behind him as the door swung closed.  
  
Normally he'd just “shortcut” his way home. But not today. He didn't feel like it. His mind wandered as he walked, the snow crunching under his feet. The ceiling of the underground loomed above, the stalactites casting ominous shadows as the glow worms shone their lights. It was pretty, and yet scary at the same time. A prison of rock.  
  
And in a few minutes he could see the lights in the distance. Home. The house's lights were bright, and he opened the front door, to see Papyrus and Undyne setting a heaping plate of spaghetti on the table. Before he could say anything, a meatball fell from the top of the pile. A spear went flying through the air, pinning the meatball to the table, and also splattering spaghetti onto the walls and floor.  
  
“Good catch, Undyne... But now we might have to scrape it off the walls...” Papyrus finally noticed him. “Oh, Sans, Undyne's going to join us tonight!”  
  
“Guess you guys wanted SPEARgetti, huh?” Sans winked.  
  
“SANS!” Papyrus screamed, throwing a meatball at him. It hit him in the face. A few noodles followed, all landing on his head.  
  
“Hey Papyrus...”  
  
“Don't you dare...” His brother glared at him.  
  
“I guess you could say that now I've got a little...”  
  
“Finish that joke and I will end you...”  
  
“MEAT on my bones!”  
  
“SANS!”  
  
“Will you two shut up? Or I'll wack both of you with this spear,” Undyne brandished the blue spear, aiming for Sans' head. Of course he'd be able to dodge it easily, but he had to keep up his image of harmlessness, even with Undyne. Though he knew she had her suspicions.  
  
“Will you just sit down and eat your dinner?” Papyrus sank into his seat, the annoyance still evident in his voice.  
  
“Oh nah, I ate at Grillby's, besides, I don't really have the stomach for it.” he winked.  
  
The other two groaned, and Papyrus pushed his spaghetti away. “That's it, dinner's ruined.” What could he say? He had two jobs, and then some, he wasn't home all that much. He had to get his kicks in when he could.  
  
“Sans I swear if you make one more pun...” Undyne glared at him.  
  
“Oh please, SPEAR me the lecture,” he winked. A spear hurtled towards his face. He sidestepped, and it crashed harmlessly against the wall. It wasn't a hard throw, but it was enough to do some damage.  
  
“How did you...?” Undyne seemed impressed.  
  
“Haha. Well, I'm going upstairs. Nice to see you, Undyne,” he slipped away before she could ask any other questions. Pulling his key from his pocket, he unlocked the door to his room, resealing it behind him. He sank against it, sliding to the floor. He should have taken the spear. He only had 1 hp, but he had plenty of extra room from his constant sleeping. He could have taken it... probably. It would have been less suspicious.  
  
He sighed, maybe next time he'd... He stopped himself. He refused to think about the resets. Not right now. He had to think of something else. He pushed them out of his head, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. The clock read 6:43. It wasn't as late as he'd thought. In fact, it was actually still pretty early in the night. He knelt next to his nightstand, opening the drawer. He picked up a book, underneath lie his key to the back door. He quickly closed the drawer again. Papyrus didn't know what was behind the back door. Sans had told him that he'd lost the key years ago. Heh. Paps always believed his lies.  
  
He sat on the floor, opening the book. It was a joke book on the exterior, but in reality, when he opened it, it was a quantum physics book. Volume 1. Volume 2 lie downstairs on the table, also concealed within a joke book. Papyrus would never even touch a joke book, not that it was much of a secret that he liked science.  
  
After reading for a little while, he decided his experiment was a go. He felt the power he possessed radiating through his skull, pounding in his head. It grew and grew. He focused on the corner of the room, and... There was a pop, and the trash began to move. He watched as it picked up speed, and then slowly removed himself from the process. Success! He'd successfully created a self-sustaining tornado of trash. It was hilarious. Papyrus would hate it.  
  
He placed the book back in it's rightful place, and watched the trashnado spinning in its corner for a moment. He considered doing the same to the dirty sock pile, but decided against it. They were better on the floor. He peered at his clock once more. 8:30... He'd hadn't realized so much time had passed. Time flies when you're making stuff to annoy your brother.  
  
Yawning, he slipped his jacket from his shoulders, and his shorts and slippers landed on the floor as he untangled his sheets from their mangled ball, wrapping himself in them and rolling over. He fell asleep pretty easily. He always did.


	2. Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late upload, you guys. I got busy. I'll try to get into a regular upload schedule now.

Sans shivered when he awoke, he didn't know where he was. It was dark. He could feel snow under him. He quickly got to his feet, searching for his jacket. Nowhere to be found. He pulled his t-shirt a little closer around himself. Skeletons didn't get cold... But the wind went right through them!  
  
He chuckled to himself a little. He'd have to save that one for Pap.  
  
“Hello? Papyrus? Undyne?” he called. Probably pulling a prank on him. It had happened before. He was a heavy sleeper. His voice echoed, sending shivers down his spine. Creepy.  
  
“Sans...” A voice said from behind him, and he whirled around to find Papyrus. He felt a little relieved. He wasn't alone in this strange world of darkness. But Papyrus looked angry. Sans racked his brain. He hadn't done anything to make him angry, had he? His puns were typical, Papyrus never stayed angry at him...  
  
“Hey, Pap, why-” he started, but was cut off.  
  
“You really are a disappointment.”  
  
“Wh-what?” Papyrus had never said anything like that before...  
  
“You're so useless. I can't rely on you for anything. Even when I need you the most...” Papyrus turned away from him. “I guess I shouldn't expect something from nothing.”  
  
“P-Papyrus, I-” The words cut like a knife.  
  
“Whatever. You're not worth my time.” He began to walk away.  
  
Suddenly in a flash a creature was standing in front of his brother. A human. He knew what it was going to do, he'd seen it oh so many times before...  
  
“Papyrus. WATCH OUT!” He screamed, and tried to run forward, but he couldn't move. The snow below his feet had enveloped them, like quicksand.  
  
He couldn't even close his eyes, forced to watch in horror as the blade cut through the air. Papyrus's head fell from his shoulders, turning to dust as it hit the ground.  
  
“No...” he sank to his knees, head in his hands. “No, no, no, nonononono... This can't be happening...”  
  
Voices swirled around him like a tornado. “Useless.” “You could have stopped this.” “You could have saved him.” “This is your fault.” “Disappointment.” “Weak.” “Nothing.” “Your fault...” “You just stood there...” “He was right...”  
  
The tears were falling. He was screaming. Papyrus... Dead... Because of him... Again...  
  
He cried out into the darkness. The silence settling around him.  
  
A giggle echoed around him, and he screamed as he heard the blade slicing through the air, he felt the pain of the blade cutting through him, could feel himself drifting away, turning to dust.  
  
“Sans! SANS!”  
  
He came to his senses. Papyrus had both hands on his shoulders, staring at him with worry.  
  
“Sans, what happened? Are you alright? Brother, what's going on?”  
  
“P-Papyrus...?” It took a minute. He was sitting in his room, in his bed... His jacket still sitting on the floor. And before him... Papyrus. Sans wrapped his arms around his brother. Intense relief flooded through him.  
They were safe. They were fine. They weren't dead.  
  
“Sans, you're fine... I'm right here...” Papyrus reassured him.  
  
“Thank god...” He released him from his hug.  
  
“What was it about?” Papyrus asked quietly.  
  
“It was...” He remembered every detail. He couldn't tell Pap, though... It would worry him. “Just scary. I'm sorry,” he felt guilty, this was the third time he'd woken his brother with his midnight screaming.  
  
“You have nothing to apologize for, because you see, I, the Great Papyrus am the greatest of all brothers, and am happy to have you come stay with me.”  
  
“That's alright,” Sans gave a shaky chuckle. “You don't have to-  
  
“Nonsense! What kind of brother would I be if I didn't? I would stay with you in here but... It's way too messy. How do you live like this?” Pap tossed him over his shoulder.  
  
“Dunno, bro,” he yawned, as Papyrus dropped him into the racecar bed in his room. 'Santa' (really just Sans in a santa suit, “Sansta”) had brought it for him a few years ago.  
  
He didn't even remember having fallen asleep, but when he woke up again, it was morning. Papyrus had left him a note.

  


Sans,  
Had to go recalibrate puzzles in case humans come, I'm sure they will any day now! It has to be soon! Maybe even today or tomorrow! See you home later! Don't slack off today.  
Papyrus  
(P.S. There's leftovers in the fridge if you want them)

  


Heh. He should probably do something productive today. Perhaps cleaning out the fridge of all the leftover spaghetti... Or perhaps not. It was a nice thought, though. He'd probably just slack off like normal.  
  
Sans thought about it and finally decided he was in the mood for some jokes. He'd go to the door in Snowdin forest. It wasn't time for sentry duty yet, but he might as well. He didn't have anything else going on... That he knew of...  
  
He made his way to his room, and donned his shorts, slippers, and jacket. He stuck his joke book in his pocket, as well as a whoopee cushion. Never knew when you'd need one of those. Couldn't be too careful nowadays.  
  
The town was bustling with activity. People were coming in and out of the shop, and a few leaving the inn. The library had a couple people inside, and Grillby's was full of the usual breakfast crowd. Normally he'd be among them.  
  
He'd stop in for lunch. He could see the door at the end of the path, it was right there, and then his phone began to ring, making him jump.  
  
“Hello?” he picked it up, expecting Papyrus.  
  
“Sans? It's Alphys, something weird is going on, I need you to get here right away,” she sounded panicked.  
  
“Don't freak out, Alphys, I'll be there in one minute. I was coming to visit anyway, I'm just a minute away from your place,” he could feel the power beginning, as he was about to shortcut.  
  
“Um, yeah, okay, just get over here.”  
  
He hung up and shortcutted himself in front of the lab, pushing his way inside.  
  
“Alphys? What's the problem?”  
  
She was standing at her computer, and pointed at the information coming in.  
  
He stared at the monitor, reading this report. A human was spotted walking through the ruins. Chills ran down his spine. The nightmares presented themselves at the front of his mind again... But something else nudged its way there too.  
  
He could remember his promise. He could remember sentry duty, knocking on the door in the forest. The knock knock jokes he and his friend had shared. They knew each other well. The day he had made his promise, she hadn't be laughing much at his jokes, like she usually did. When he'd asked what was wrong, she'd made him promise never to harm a human who would come through the door.  
He hated making promises, because he hated when he had to break them. But he had done it. That was before the nightmares. Now they'd been happening more frequently, each one worse than the last... And now there was a human in their midst.  
  
“I'm going to work,” he said quickly, starting for the door. He had to get to his post before the human got out.  
  
“Okay, but- Sans, you do know I have cameras in Snowdin, even in the forest. You don't have to lie to me, I know what you can do. Don't worry, I haven't told anyone, but-”  
  
The thought hadn't occurred to him, though it probably should have. He didn't have time now though, he had to get to his station. “We'll talk later,” he vowed, shortcutting back. If she already knew, no point in hiding it.  
  
He decided to lie in wait in the trees, unmoving, watching the door. He could hear voices on the other side. His thoughts went to his friend behind it. He hoped she was alright. He only let his thoughts wander briefly. He wasn't going to let this human out of his sight.


	3. A Human...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twice in one day to make up for my lazy upload schedule.

The door opened and he waited for the hideous beast to emerge. He expected a monster but to his surprise a kid came walking out. They looked harmless. A little cold, a little scared, trekking down the path leading to Snowdin Town. He followed at a safe distance. They paused at the bridge, and he decided to make his presence known.  
  
“H u m a n...” he whispered, reaching in his pocket to grab the whoopee cushion. He wanted to make a good first impression after all. “ D o n ' t y o u k n o w h o w t o g r e e t a n e w p a l ? T u r n a r o u n d a n d s h a k e m y h a n d . ”  
  
It was hard not to laugh as the human froze in their tracks, fear making them tremble, as they turned around, reaching for his outstretched hand. The whoopee cushion let out a loud “PFFFFFFTTTTTTTT.”  
  
“Heh, the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick, it's ALWAYS funny! Anyways, you're a human right? That's hilarious. I'm Sans. Sans the skeleton. I'm supposed to be on watch for humans right now, but y'know. I don't really care about capturing anybody. Now my brother, Papyrus, he's a human-hunting FANATIC. Actually, I think that's him over there,“ it was true, Papyrus was coming down the path from training. The kid didn't seem dangerous... In fact, they seemed... Friendly. He'd keep an eye on them.  
  
“I have an idea, go through this gate thingy. Yeah, go right through, my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone,” He ushered them through the gate. “Quick, behind that conveniently shaped lamp.” This was almost enough to crack him up, it was just the right size to hide them from view. Just as they'd hidden, Papyrus walked over.  
  
“Sup, bro?” Sans ventured, trying to act casual.  
  
“You know what “sup,” brother! It's been eight days and you still haven't... Recalibrated. Your. Puzzles! You just hang around outside your station! What are you even doing?!?”  
  
Ah, right... Pap had been getting on him for days about those silly puzzles. He said the first thing to come to mind, “Staring at this lamp. It's really cool, do you wanna look?” He already knew the answer, that was what made it hilarious.  
  
“No!! I don't have time for that!!” Papyrus stomped his foot, growing irritated. He'd always done it when he got mad, since he was little. “What if a human comes through here? I want to be ready!!! I will be the one! I must be the one! I will capture a human! Then I, the Great Papyrus, will get all the things I utterly deserve! Respect... Recognition... I will finally be able to join the Royal Guard! People will ask to be my, “friend?” I will bathe in a shower of kisses every morning.”  
  
“Hmm...” he listened politely, nearly cracking up, since there was a human in their midst, only a few feet away. “Maybe this lamp will help you.”  
  
“SANS!! You are not helping!! You lazybones!! All you do is sit and BOONDOGGLE! You get lazier and lazier every day!!!”  
  
“Hey, take it easy. I've gotten a ton of work done today. A skele-ton,” he winked.  
  
“SANS!!!” Papyrus groaned.  
  
“Come on. You're smiling.”  
  
“I am and I hate it!” He sighed. “Why does someone as great as me... Have to do so much just to get some recognition...”  
  
“Wow, sounds like you're really working yourself... down to the bone?” He winked once more. He was sure the human was probably cracking up. Papyrus on the other hand, hated it.  
  
“Ugh! I will attend to my puzzles... As for your work? Put a little more, “backbone” into it!!!! Nyeheheheheheheh! ...Heh!”  
  
Sans gave a small chuckle as Papyrus left for his puzzles. He always loved the rare occasions Pap actually tried to make a joke. They were always terrible. Terribly awesome.  
  
“Ok, you can come out now,” he called out. The kid approached, grinning ear to ear. “You oughta get going. He might come back. And if he does... You'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes.” The kid started to leave, and he mentioned before they got too far, “Actually, hey... Hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor? I was thinking... My brother's been kind of down lately... He's never seen a human before. And seeing you might just make his day. Don't worry, he's not dangerous. Even if he tries to be. Thanks a million. I'll be up ahead.”  
  
He walked the opposite direction, it was always funny to see someone's face when he did that sort of thing, he liked messing with people. A quick shortcut put him behind his brother, and Papyrus turned around, to find him suddenly standing there.  
  
“Sans! You're lucky I'm never caught off-guard! Still, don't sneak up on me like that! Undyne says-”  
  
Sans could see the kid approaching and made a noise like he was clearing his throat. Papyrus paused a moment to give him a weird look, before continuing.  
  
“So as I was saying about Undyne,” he stopped, finally hearing the crunching of the snow under the human's feet. He turned and stared, glancing back at his brother to see if he'd seen it too. They exchanged several glances back and forth, Sans trying to act surprised. They turned around, back to the kid, Papyrus whispering not-so-quietly to him.  
  
“Sans!! Oh my god!! Is that... A human?!!?!?!?!?!”  
  
They flipped back around, and he decided, what better time for a joke? “Uhhhh... Actually, I think that's a rock,” he nodded to the rock behind the kid.  
  
“Oh,” Papyrus's face filled with disappointment.  
  
“Hey, what's that in front of the rock?”  
  
“Oh my god!” his voice returned to a not-so-quiet whisper, “Sans... Is... Is that a human?”  
  
“Yes,” he whispered back.  
  
“OH MY GOD!” Pap's excited returned, doubled. “Sans! I finally did it! Undyne will... I'm gonna... I'll be so... Popular! Popular! POPULAR! Ahem,” he turned attention back to the kid, “Human! You shall not pass this area! I, the Great Papyrus, will stop you!!! I will then capture you! You will be delivered to the capital! Then... THEN! I'm not sure what's next... In any case... Continue! Only if you dare!!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!” he ran ahead to his first puzzle.  
  
“Well, that went well,” Sans turned back to the kid. “Don't sweat it, kid. I'll keep an eyesocket out for ya.” He ran ahead to get back to his brother, waving at Doggo as he ran past.  
  
“Hey Doggo,” he called.  
  
“Heya Sansy,” he called back lighting a dog treat, and sitting on the floor of his station. “Slow down, don't move so fast.”  
  
Sans ignored him, slowing down when he reached the frozen lake. The human was coming, and he decided he'd give them some advice.  
  
“Hey, here's something important to remember. My brother has a very special attack. If you see a blue attack, don't move and it won't hurt you. Here's an easy way to keep it in mind. Imagine a stop sign. When you see a stop sign, you stop, right? Stop signs are red, so imagine a blue stop sign instead. Simple, right? When fighting, think about blue stop signs.” He liked to make things as complicated as possible, it was always hilarious. He waited until they'd left before walking ahead to his brother.  
  
“What have you been doing?” Papyrus asked, annoyed that Sans hadn't gotten to the puzzle as quickly as he had.  
  
“Y'know, just walking over. Thought about taking a nap.”  
  
“Oh my god! You're so lazy! You were napping all night!!”  
  
“I think that's called... Sleeping.”  
  
“Excuses, excuses... Oh- ho! The human arrives! In order to stop you, my brother and I have created some puzzles! I think you will find this one... Quite shocking!!!”  
  
Sans snorted.  
  
“For you see, this is the invisible... Electricity maze!! When you touch the walls of this maze... This orb will administer a hearty zap!” He slipped his hand into his pocket, pulling the shock-ball from it. “Sound like fun?? Because! The amount of fun you will have, is actually rather small I think. Okay, you can go ahead now.” The human took a step forward, and the orb sent a shock through Pap's body. “SANS!!! WHAT DID YOU DO?!?!”  
  
“I think the human has to hold the orb.”  
  
“Oh, okay,” Papyrus maneuvered through the maze, and Sans watched, barely suppressing a giggle as Papyrus left tracks in the snow. The kid stepped in Pap's footprints and was soon safely on the other side.  
  
“Incredible! You slippery snail! You solved it so easily... Too easily! However! The next puzzle will not be easy! It is designed by my brother, Sans! You will surely be confounded! I know I am! Nyeh heh heh heh heh!” He walked on ahead.  
  
“Hey, thanks... My brother seems like he's having fun. By the way, did you see that weird outfit he's wearing? We made that a few weeks ago for a costume party. He hasn't worn anything else since... Keeps calling it his “battle body.” Man. Isn't my brother cool?”  
  
He meant it. The human left and he followed behind. They played ball while he picked up some snow. He watched the nice cream guy across the way.  
  
“I've been thinking about selling treats too. Want some fried snow? It's just 5g,” he snickered. Fried snow. Here, have some water. They declined. “You're right, I should charge more.”  
He showed up at the site for the puzzle, pulling a word search from his pocket and lying it in the middle of the snow. Perfect. The human showed up a moment later.  
  
“Human!! I hope you're ready for...” Papyrus paused, scanning the ground. “Sans! Where's the puzzle?!”  
  
“It's right there, on the ground. Trust me, there's no way they can get past this one.”  
  
The kid barely looked at it.  
  
“Sans! That didn't do anything!”  
  
“Whoops. I knew I should have used today's crossword instead.”  
  
“What?! Crossword?! I can't believe you said that! In my opinion... Junior Jumble is easily the hardest.”  
  
“What? Really, dude? That easy-peasy word scramble? That's for baby bones.”  
  
“Un. Believable. Human! Solve this dispute!”  
  
The kid nodded at Sans.  
  
“You two are weird. Crosswords are so easy. It's the same solution every time! I just fill all the boxes in with the letter 'z...' Because every time I look at a crossword... All I can do is snore!!!” He laughed, leaving for the next puzzle.  
  
“Papyrus... finds difficulty in interesting places. Yesterday he got stumped trying to “solve” the horoscope.”  
  
After the kid left again, he decided a little experiment was necessary. He watched from out of view as the kid went through Papyrus's next puzzle. They treated Pap fine... He was pretty sure it was safe.  
  
“Good job solving it so quickly, you didn't even need my help. Which is great, 'cause I love doing absolutely nothing.”  
  
They went ahead to the next puzzle, and the kid joined them shortly after.  
  
“Hey! It's the human! You're gonna love this puzzle! It was made by the great Doctor Alphys! You see these tiles? Once I throw this switch they will begin to change color. Each color has it's own function.” He gave a quick rundown, before flipping it. The whole thing became one bridge, easy and completely non-dangerous to walk across. Papyrus couldn't believe it, leaving wordlessly, a first for him. He didn't realize that Sans himself had reset it a few days prior just to mess with him.  
  
“You know that spaghetti from earlier,” he decided to mention Pap's “trap” he'd passed on his way over. “It wasn't too bad for my brother. Since he's started cooking lessons, he's improved a lot. I bet next year, he'll even make something edible.”  
  
The kid laughed, and he went on ahead. He saw someone ahead, and looking ahead he found Gryftrot. The kid soon followed. When they turned around he shortcutted to the other side. He laughed at the kid's face, as he asked, “Hey, are you following me?”  
  
He waited until they were gone before shortcutting back to the beginning of the path. He crossed the long bridge connecting the two sides of Snowdin, and at the end he found Papyrus, tightening the rope on a dog he had hung above the end of the bridge. It began to spin. He didn't question it, though he wanted to know what was going on, but Papyrus seemed happy, so he let it go. He doubted Pap would actually hurt the kid. He was too nice for that.  
  
He was right. Papyrus couldn't do it. He gave up, and let the kid leave. As they watched the kid go, Sans told his brother, “Well, my work here is done, I'm going home for a while.”  
  
“What do you mean, “your work?” You haven't done anything! How anyone employs you at all...”  
  
Sans laughed, playfully punching his brother on the arm, making his way home. He dug through the fridge. Right... He only had an empty bag of chips. Well, time for Grillby's.  
  
“Sans, do you want to watch me fight and capture the human?” Papyrus asked excitedly, from behind him.  
  
“That's alright bro, I'm going to head to Grillby's.”  
  
“What? But Sans, you ALWAYS go to Grillby's! Come on,” Papyrus's disappointment was evident.  
  
“Oh c'mon, Pap, I'll wait for you, and when you get there we can celebrate.”  
  
“You know I hate that place... But alright, fine. I'll see you there.”  
  
Sans waved, and when he entered the door of Grillby's, he was greeted by multiple calls of “Sans, whereya been all day?” “Heya Sans!” “Sansy, come sit with me!”  
  
He sat at his usual spot at the bar. “Hey Grillby, can I have 2 bottles of ketchup and an order of fries?”  
  
Grillby nodded, and left for the kitchen.


	4. A Discovery

Sans ate his fries and drank his ketchup, watching around the bar. He waited... Had a few more ketchups... And waited... People came and went. He scanned the front window... Where was he...? It was hours later before Grillby tapped on his shoulder, bringing him out of his daze.  
  
“Sorry, Grillby, I'm waiting for Pap... He was supposed to meet me here...”  
  
“We're closing, do you need me to take you home? You've had an awful lot of ketchup,” Grillby looked a little concerned.  
  
“Nah, I'm fine... Thanks, G. I'll see you tomorrow.”  
  
He left, a bit of worry in the back of his head. What if... No. No, Papyrus was fine, he had probably just forgotten! That was it. The house before him still had all the lights on. His hand rested on the doorknob. The door opened it and the place was... Empty. A feeling of dread settled over him  
  
“Papyrus?” he called. “PAPYRUS?” The dread was turning into panic. Why didn't he stay with Pap, why did he go to Grillby's? That kid... What if-  
  
“Sans?” A voice said from behind him. He whirled around. It was Papyrus.  
  
“Oh my god...” Sans wrapped his arms around his brother, which was a little difficult, being that Pap had shopping bags in each arm.  
  
“Sans, what's wrong, are you alright?”  
  
“Yeah. Where were you?”  
  
“We were out of spaghetti!”  
  
“Hm. That is quite a dilemma. What happened with the human?”  
  
“Oh, well... You see, I captured them in the shed, but they kept escaping, and then they kept flirting with me, so we decided to go on a date... and it's in a little while and we're out of spaghetti! I have to make them some!”  
  
“A date, huh?” He gave Papyrus a nudge, winking, “Heh heh. That'll be fun. What are you kids doing on your playdate?”  
  
“I don't know...” Papyrus started putting noodles in a pot.  
  
“Well, I tell you what, I'll be upstairs, you just give me a call if you need me, huh?” The kid wasn't dangerous. They wouldn't hurt Paps... He was fine...  
  
He did go to his room, locking the door behind him. He hardly remembered having fallen asleep, but when he snapped awake, he was lying against the door to his room. His spine gave a painful pop as he stretched.  
  
A commotion was going on downstairs, and he peered from his room to see... Oh right... The dog... He'd let it in the house to sleep out of the snow. It had gotten into Papyrus's bone stash. He knew just what to do in this situation. He summoned his power, and the trombone flew from it's hiding spot under the bed into his hand. He leaned out the door, playing the annoying tune that would drive his brother mad.  
  
“SANS! STOP PLAGUING MY LIFE WITH INCIDENTAL MUSIC!” Papyrus screamed. Sans laughed, closing his door again. He set the trombone back under the bed. If Papyrus ever found it, he'd never see it again.  
  
The human left after the date for Waterfall. Sans kept an eye on them, through their little adventure... They went to Grillby's, he made a few pranks, sold them some hot dogs... They made friends with Undyne, they were doing great. Didn't even need his help, he decided, so he returned to Snowdin. He'd figured his job was done for the day, but soon enough the kid came walking back.  
  
“Hey punk,” Undyne called as the human approached the house.  
  
“Hi human,” Papyrus waved.  
  
“Sup, kid?” Sans winked.  
  
The human had decided to stay for a while. They had tried the inn, but it was apparently too noisy to sleep in overnight.  
  
“Well, since Undyne's house had burned down, and she's staying with us too, you can join our sleepover!” Papyrus grinned. “We'll make spaghetti, and-”  
  
“How about pizza?” Sans offered. Pizza and movies were always great when it was snowing. The snow had started a while back. He wondered if they'd get... He snickered.  
  
“Oooh, yeah, that sounds fun,” Undyne grinned. “Pizza and a movie.”  
  
“Hey bro,” Sans gave Papyrus a little nudge. “It's snowing pretty heavy...”  
  
“Hm?” Pap glanced around at the snowfall. “Yes, I suppose it is...”  
  
“Think we might get... Snowdin?”  
  
“Oh my god.”  
  
“I'll get Grillby to make us some pizzas, be right back,” Sans stepped off the porch, amid the groans at his joke. Grillby, well known for his burgers, could also make a pretty mean pizza, if you asked for one.  
  
“I'll go with you,” Undyne grinned, following behind him.  
  
“Okay, you two, have fun. We'll pick a movie, c'mon Human,” Papyrus and the kid waved, as the group separated.  
  
Sans had to admit, he was a little concerned. He and Undyne weren't exactly the closest of friends. Better put, she was his brother's best friend. He typically tried to stay out of their way and let them do their own thing.

  


 

  


Looking around, the town was empty, no one walking, no one shopping, everyone indoors for the upcoming snowstorm. The wind was picking up, and the snow falling heavier. He had to be sure they had plenty of blankets in case they did end up inside for a while...  
  
“Hey Sans,” Undyne had stopped.  
  
“Hm?” He absentmindedly turned around, mind on the winter supplies he needed to get while he was out. He was just in time to see a blue light flying through the air, aiming straight for him. It was a spear. He didn't even think, sidestepping. The spear fell harmlessly to the ground behind him. He could feel the power in his skull, feel the pain in his eyes, as a handful of spears flew towards him. He dodged them easily.  
  
He stared at the spears in the ground, stuck in the snow. “What the hell, Undyne?” a rush of anger flooded through him. “You could have killed me!”  
  
“But I didn't,” She was staring at him in awe. “How did you do that? I've never seen anybody dodge a spear like that before... And what's with the eye? How long has it been doing that?”  
  
He turned away. He could feel the power draining away, feel his eyes returning to normal. His anger, however, did not dissipate.  
  
“Stop.” The anger was growing.  
  
“Stop what? I just want to know-”  
  
“Stop asking me.”  
  
“But I want to see it again,” Undyne grinned, and he glanced over his shoulder to see the spears resurfacing. “What else can you do, Sans?”  
  
“Please, Undyne, don't-” he tried, but she sent a handful at him. He dodged them. He didn't want to hurt her.  
  
“C'mon, Sans, show me what you've got,” another handful shot towards his face.  
  
The power was returning. The pain from his eyes...  
  
“That eye is awesome, what else can it do?” He dodged another spear. His anger was growing. Undyne could tell. She egged him on. He didn't want to let it get to him, but at the same time... He wanted to fight.  
  
“Fight me, Sans!”  
  
He sent a small wave of bones at her. Blue. Easy to dodge. He didn't want to hurt her. A few small attacks, just to appear weak. Like his only ability lie in defense.  
  
Undyne grinned at his attack. “Heh. Survive THIS! If you die, I'll tell your brother you loved him,” she said it mockingly. That did it. He snapped. He knew he was playing into her plan, but right now... He didn't care what happened in this timeline. He might as well enjoy it before the next reset. He would fight.  
  
“Fine, Undyne,” his pupils disappeared, and he gave a little chuckle. “You want to see what I'm capable of? I'll show you.”  
  
She looked a little taken aback for a moment, but then she readied her strongest attacks. Spears flew towards him at almost impossible speeds.  
  
Instinct kicked in. He sidestepped a few, and felt his power lifting him into the air, maneuvering in and out of the spears. He landed back on the ground, and rolled to avoid another attack, panting.  
  
A whole handful of blue spears, their blades ready to find their mark- him, were flying through the air. He raised his hand, and a wall of bones appeared in front of him, blocking them. He shot to his feet, summoning two of his blasters. They waited behind him, one at each shoulder, awaiting his command. He stared down his foe, as she sent more attacks his way. He gave a wave of his hand and watched as the blasters tore the spears out of the air, crushing them in their jaws, and sent blasts of power through the others, protecting their master.  
  
“Whoa...” Undyne stared.  
  
“Is it my turn?” He sent the blasters forward, in front of him. They simultaneously sent beams of power at Undyne, while he sent five waves of bones back to back her way. The attacks went all around her in a spiral.  
  
He raised his hand once the attack was complete, and the blasters retreated behind him.  
  
“Heh, you call THAT an attack?” Undyne tried to act tough, but he could tell she was put off by the unexpected. Her HP had been reduced to one.  
  
“Heh heh... I was going easy on you,” he chuckled, completely serious. This was true. If he wanted to kill her, he would have.  
  
“Wow...” Undyne dropped her spear in the snow, giving up.  
  
He spared her. He gave each of the blasters a pat, before sending them off again. They were good pets.  
  
“Does... Does Papyrus...?” Undyne asked, a little shakily.  
  
“No. He's not capable of that kind of power. I refused to let him,” Sans shuddered, remembering how he had acquired the power... He shook the thoughts off. He tried not to think about... *him*... He began walking.   
  
“How did you get that power?” Undyne asked quietly, walking beside him.  
  
“I don't want to talk about it. It was a long time ago.”  
  
They walked in silence. It was taking an awful long time to reach Grillby's... The snow was falling almost in a blizzard.  
  
“Look, I'm going to go to Grillby's, why don't you head back and I'll meet you there?” he nodded back the way they'd come. He hoped she could find her way back on her own. He was a little concerned they were going the wrong way, walking blind.  
  
“And leave you in a snowstorm? No way, I-”  
  
He sighed... It was pointless anyway... “Don't ask questions, please.”  
  
“Huh, why-?”  
  
He grabbed her by the arm, and shortcutted to the front door of the restaurant.  
  
“What... How did you...?”  
  
“You are very annoying, do you know that? Do me a favor, keep quiet about it. We can talk later. Wait here.”  
  
“But-” she started, but he'd already gone inside. The last thing he wanted to do was try to explain the concept of teleportation and how it had come to be an ability he possessed.


	5. Snowed In?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could use some new ideas for short stories, or scenes between characters. If you have any you'd like written, let me know. :)  
> ((My only requirement: No Sans x Pap requests. They're brothers, ya sicko. :P))

Sans waited a few minutes for the pizza, luckily Grillby hadn't gone home quite yet, trying to usher out the last remaining patrons. Pizzas now in hand, he stepped back outside into the snow, handing them to Undyne.  
  
“Hold these,” he shoved them into her arms, as he shortcutted them both back to the house.  
  
“How long have you been able to do that?”  
  
“Since I was little, look, can you please just keep your mouth shut about it? I'll tell you later.”  
  
“Who else knows?”  
  
“No one,” he started to say, but then stopped himself. “Alphys. She knows. Papyrus... Well, he knows a little. I haven't told him everything.”  
  
“Why...”  
  
She was beginning to ask more questions, but he'd already gone inside. “Hey, we're back.”  
  
“Sans! I was getting worried, you were taking so long,” Papyrus waved him over, and Sans sat next to him on the couch.  
  
They ended up watching an old Mettaton movie, the third one, and enjoying the pizzas. He didn't even remember having fallen asleep, but when he woke up, Papyrus was asleep, Sans lying on his leg. Undyne was asleep on the floor, the human at the other end of the couch. He closed his eyes a few moments longer. It was the middle of the night. He wasn't really sure what had woken him. He slipped from the couch, being careful so as not to wake Papyrus, or the kid.  
  
Peering out the window, he could see the snow falling harder. They were going to be stuck inside a little while, he was certain. A quick trip to the kitchen revealed... They had plenty of spaghetti, but that was about it. It was time to go grocery shopping before it got too bad.  
  
There was a little store a ways down the road, if you knew where to go and what to look for. It was always open. He quickly shortcutted his way outside the door, landing in a heap of snow that had been cleared away from the door. He sank in it up to his waistline.  
  
“Heh,” he crawled from the hole he'd made. At least he wasn't cold. One of the many perks to being a skeleton, along with the potential for endless bone puns. He slunk into the store. It was nearly empty, as were the food stocks. But there were still things here and there. He took a cart, and tried to think through a week's worth of food items.  
  
He took several boxes of frozen waffles, pancakes, and two cartons of eggs. Plus syrup and coffee. Perfect breakfast choices. He grabbed hot dogs with buns, sandwich stuff, a few bags of chips... A few cans of assorted soups... Geez, this was a bit difficult. Papyrus usually did all the grocery shopping, and while his main purchases were spaghetti-related, he knew what they needed... But Sans on the other hand, only knew that Undyne and the kid wouldn't be alright with spaghetti for every meal possibly for a week. He was determined to make the time fun... Or at least as fun as it could be stuck inside.  
  
Let's see... Sandwich stuff, hot dogs, breakfast stuff... Of course ketchup needed to follow. Several bottles found their way into the cart, as well as some mustard for the hot dogs. And... Hm... He looked over the frozen meals, picking up a container of mac n cheese, and a lasagna. Couldn't be THAT hard to cook.  
  
And now, everybody's favorites, dessert items... A few containers of ice cream, cookies, and brownies fell into the cart. There. Loads of junk food for a great week. He tossed an apple and a banana in the cart as well. He wouldn't eat them, but Papyrus would be upset that he hadn't gotten anything “good” for them. Perfect.  
  
He dug in his pocket for the wad of bills he kept there, pushing the cart to the front of the store to pay. He counted them out, and found that it had cleaned him out of his cash. That, and he was now laden with groceries. Heavy groceries.  
  
He quickly stepped out of the store, and shortcutted. The action, however, was sloppy, with bags in each arm, and he found himself in the middle of the snow, he wasn't sure where. He groaned a little, shifted the weight of the bags, and tried again. Better. He shortcutted to his room, waiting until the noise of the cans clanking together to subside before walking to the kitchen. He stocked the fridge and cabinets, tossing away a few the old containers of spaghetti that had overtaken the fridge. There. Papyrus wasn't the only responsible brother.  
  
He crawled back on the couch, closing his eyes, and didn't wake again until he felt Papyrus stir.  
  
“Sorry, Sans... Did I wake you?” Pap whispered.  
  
“Nah, bro.” An evil thought crossed his mind. “Hey Pap...”  
  
“Hm?”  
  
“Want to pull a prank on Undyne?”  
  
Papyrus, as nice as he may be, could also be quite devious in the proper circumstances. He agreed, and in hushed voices, they debated the proper prank to start the day. After some discussion, they decided on marker. They slipped from the couch, careful not to wake the human, and each took a marker from the kitchen, kneeling on either side of Undyne.  
  
Sans had the left side of her face. He drew bones spelling out “Sans was here” all across the side of her face. Papyrus had the same concept, but he written “Cool Dude” instead. He then decorated around it with little fish. Sans snickered, and did the same. It wasn't the best prank they'd ever pulled, but it would be funny.  
  
Undyne shifted, and they each quickly backed away, returning the markers to their drawer. Sans covered the human's mouth with his hand, waking them, and gestured to Undyne's face. He had mentioned doing the same to the kid, but Papyrus had told him no. The kid promised to keep quiet, and they went to the kitchen.  
  
“I'll make us some breakfast spaghetti,” Papyrus started to say, and Sans stopped him.  
  
“How about waffles?”  
  
The human grinned, and Papyrus gave him a sideways look.  
  
“Sans, we don't even have waffles!”  
  
“Sure we do,” he dug in the freezer, pulling out the box from the last night. And so, they dined on microwaved waffles.  
  
“What are you guys doing?” Undyne groaned from the floor.  
  
“Making breakfast. Here, have a waffle,” Sans tossed one at her. She snatched it out of the air, reflexes always top notch. The marker shone in the light, and they had to fight not to smile. For he and Papyrus, the struggle wasn't quite so great, as they always were smiling, but for the kid, they had a tougher time keeping it together.  
  
“Well, I'm heading home.” Undyne sat up and stretched.  
  
“Sorry, Undyne, looks like we're Snowdin,” he winked, and Papyrus gave a little groan.  
  
“C'mon, you're smiling,” he nudged his brother.  
  
“I am, and I hate it, plus you already made that joke...” Papyrus sighed, taking his plate back to the couch.  
  
“What? But I have to go see Alphys!” Undyne stood.  
  
Sans shrugged. “Sorry.”  
  
“Hey Sans, where did you get these, anyway?” Papyrus asked.  
  
“Went out before the snow got bad last night.”  
  
“Sans, can I talk to you?” Undyne asked.  
  
“Huh? I guess, what's up?”  
  
“Privately?”  
  
Papyrus sighed, plate in one hand, “Fine. C'mon human, let's go to my room.” He scooped the giggling human up in his arm, carrying them upstairs.  
  
Sans waited for the door to close before turning his attention back to Undyne. “What?”  
  
“Shortcut me.”  
  
“Excuse me?”  
  
“Shortcut me to Alphys's. It'll be real quick, and then I can stay with her for a while, you won't have to have me here anymore.”  
  
“I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about,” he gave her a blank look.  
  
“Liar. Take me.”  
  
He snickered, pretending was pointless. “Why should I? I'm not a taxi.”  
  
“Just this once!”  
  
“If I do, you have to stop hounding me about this. You're annoying the CARP outta me,” he winked.  
  
Undyne groaned, “Fine!”  
  
He called up the stairs, “Hey Papyrus, we're going out for a while, you two stay inside until I get back. There's plenty of stuff in the kitchen to eat!”  
  
He grabbed her by the arm, and in a moment they were standing in Hotland.  
  
“There, now I-” he'd begun waking away, but a voice cut through the air.  
  
“Sans, Undyne!” Alphys stood before them. “How did you guys get here? Sans, did you...? And Undyne, what's wrong with your face...?”  
  
“Huh? What do you mean 'What's wrong with my face?' What...?” Undyne rubbed her eyes.  
  
Sans couldn't help it, he started cracking up laughing.  
  
“What did you do?” Undyne turned to grab him, he ducked under her arm.  
  
“Nothing!” his laughter didn't subside.  
  
“Oh my god,” Undyne glared at her image in the mirror inside Alphys's lab. “I'm going to kill you. And Papyrus.”  
  
“How'd you know it was Papyrus?”  
  
“Who else would write 'Cool Dude' on my face?!”  
  
“Good point,” Sans laughed, and before she turned away, he took a pictue with his cell phone. “That's one for the scrapbook.”  
  
“Hey, give me that!” she reached for it. With a wave of his hand, it shortcutted back home, onto his bed. “Where did you send it?!”  
  
Sans shrugged, a wide grin on his face. Undyne grabbed the front of his shirt with one hand, lifting him from the ground, pulling back her fist to swing, he shortcutted out of the way to the couch, arms behind his head, grinning widely at her obvious enragement.  
  
“What's the matter, Undyne?” he asked, a little mockingly.  
  
Alphys shot him a look, “Undyne, c'mon you go clean up.”  
  
“Fine,” Undyne stormed off, and began scrubbing the marker off her face.  
  
“Could you stop being a jerk?” Alphys turned to him.  
  
“What do you mean?” he was still grinning. He and Alphys had known each other since childhood, but they hadn't really become friends until much later. They still knew each other pretty well.  
  
Alphys rolled her eyes, as footsteps approached. “Undyne, what did you think of that fight?” Alphys asked, once Undyne had scrubbed the marker off her face, with a small smile.  
  
“It was freaking awesome,” Undyne grinned back. They started talking and giggling like a couple of schoolgirls. Sans groaned.  
  
“Okay, I'm going back to Snowdin.”  
  
“Wait, Sans, c'mon, won't you stay a while?” Undyne asked. “I wanna ask you about-”  
  
“Undyne, leave him alone,” Alphys nudged her. “Sorry Sans. If you want to stay, you know I'd be happy to have you. And you don't have to talk about it. I wanted to see if you guys might be up for some anime...”  
  
“Sure,” Undyne grinned, and after some pleading, he also agreed. He rarely watched anime. He'd only watched two other times. Once with Alphys as children, and once with her while Papyrus and Undyne were playing some game a few feet away. He couldn't typically watch for more than a few minutes at a time.  
  
Mew Mew Kissy Cutie wasn't exactly his type of television. He liked game shows, those were usually pretty good... Mettaton was alright... His eyes were starting to close... Might as well recuperate his HP... He drifted off.


	6. Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((I combined my previous chapter))  
> If you guys have any ideas for stories, let me know. I could always use more ideas.  
> Thanks!!

He was in the lab. Not Alphys's lab... *His* lab. He was five. Sans looked down at his hands. They trembled, as a feeling of dread settled over his shoulders. His ainxiety was almost overwhelming. There was a noise as the door to the closet opened. *He* stood in the doorway. Gaster. Sans shied away in fear.  
  
“There you are... I've been looking for you. It's time for training.”  
  
“No, father, please!” he begged, crawling from him, but in one quick motion, Gaster scooped him into his arms. He'd begun to cry, the tears making him unable to see. Down the stairs, through room after room, until he was droppd on the table in the basement.  
  
“Give me your arm.”  
  
He refused. His arm was then forcibly taken. Gaster withdrew the large needle from it's container, filling it with the serum. Sans screamd as he was injected. It burned, like flame. His hands, his skull, his bones... They were beginning to melt, like wax over a candle. He cried. The pain was almost more than he could bear. Gaster was saying something, he couldn't quite hear him. He had some idea though, he'd heard it all before. Keep yourself together, don't let yourself melt. He forced himself to keep together through the pain. It worked. He didn't melt, even though he wanted to. He calmed down. The pain was still horrible, and growing worse by the minute... But he forced himself to focus, dodging the shots of the blasters as Gaster fought him. He dodged the blasters, and bones, and everything that was thrown at him.  
“Now, make the table move,” Gaster commanded, once he'd finished his attacks.  
  
Sans tried, he really did. He grasped the table with his mind, tried to force it aside. It didn't work. He tried again, but the pain was growing.  
  
“I can't!” he cried, collapsing to the floor in tears.  
  
Gaster sighed. “We will try again tomorrow.” He blacked out, as his pain overtook him.

  


  


He snapped awake again. It took a minute to register where he was. He was seven now. Hiding under one of his father's inventions on the table upstairs. The wires hung down around the table in such a way that it hid him from view. In his arms lie a sleeping bundle. Papyrus... Only a few months old, held tightly to his chest.  
  
“Sans? Where are you? It's time for your experiment,” Gaster called.  
  
He could hear him walking around downstairs. Could hear his footsteps on the stairs. And then he felt it. He was being lifted from the ground.  
  
“Stop!” he cried, but he was pulled out from under the table by his father's power.  
  
“You'll be able to do that too, once you get the hang of it,” Gaster told him, as Sans fell into his arms, Papyrus still held tightly to him. The baby began to cry. “Now, look, you've made your brother cry.”  
  
Papyrus was taken from him, and he was carried to the basement lab.  
  
“If you keep hiding from me like this, I'm going to start keeping you down here,” Gaster said half-jokingly.  
  
The serum burned just as horribly, with the same effects as it always had. It had gotten better over time, it was easier to control. He'd done this every day since he was two. He kept himself together. He hadn't even cried this time. He dodged the attacks flawlessly, and fought back. And then, when he tried to move the table... It worked. It only moved a few inches, but Gaster was thrilled. He was treated to ice cream when they went back upstairs.

  


  


He was now nine.  
  
“Time for training,” Gaster called to him.  
  
“No, not anymore,” Sans stood tall, keeping his resolve.  
  
“No?”  
  
Sans brought out his blasters, readied his bone attacks. Without his injection, it was hard, but doable. Gaster chuckled at him.  
  
“Fine, you don't want to train anymore? I know someone who might be a better candidate for the experiment.”  
  
Papyrus was lifted into the air from his spot on the ground, where he'd been trying to solve a puzzle. Sans stared in horror, as Gaster began to walk towards the basement. Papyrus began to cry. The thought of his little brother... Going through what he had... All that pain... He couldn't stand it.  
  
“No! No! I'll train, I'll train,” Sans blurted out, rushing forward.  
  
Gaster cackled, rushing down to the basement with Papyrus.  
  
“Sans! Help!” Papyrus screamed, as he was taken. Sans rushed for the door, pounding on it with his fists. He snapped awake, again, breathing heavily. It took a minute to register where he was.

  


  


Alphys and Undyne were staring at him.  
  
“Hey... Sans, you okay?” Alphys looked worried.  
  
“You were crying...” Undyne matched the same expression.  
  
It wasn't real... In reality, Gaster had set Papyrus back down... Pap had resumed his puzzle... Sans had gone to the basement instead.  
  
From then on, Gaster had had something over him. Sans couldn't refuse anymore. Gaster promised Papyrus's safety in exchange for his experiments. From then on, it was late nights. Long hours spent strengthening his skills, becoming the weapon Gaster wanted. Pain and anxiety became constant forces in his life. They were always present, and he learned to live with them. He no longer required the injections to keep the power strong. He could summon it at his will.  
  
But a month after he turned ten, Gaster had disappeared. Fallen into his creation, so they said. For he and Papyrus, he just hadn't come home one day. They waited, for months. He was gone. So they packed up. Sans decided he would take his brother the farthest place from the Hotlands he could get to. And so he and his three year old brother traveled to Snowdin. Their father had owned a house there before moving to the Hotlands, and they'd moved right in. He'd picked up jobs to afford it, to pay for anything they needed, saving the extra in a cookie jar in his room.  
  
“Sans,” Undyne snapped him back to reality.  
  
“Huh? I... Must have dozed off,” he got to his feet, rubbing the tears away, a little embarrassed. “I gotta get back to Pap and the kid.”  
  
“Hey, I mean, do you wanna talk about it?” Alphys asked. “We're your friends... Always here for you, you know...”  
  
“It was just... Stuff from the past. Not a big deal.”  
  
“Was it... Him?” Alphys glanced around and whispered, “Gaster?”  
  
Sans stiffened, tensing up. He'd almost forgotten. She knew about Gaster, being his replacement. She was about ten when she'd started helping Asgore. She'd become official Royal Scientist several years later. Gaster had slipped from everyone's minds over time, being that he was erased from existence. He still remembered, but... It was more like a bad dream. Like something that had happened in his own head a long time ago.  
  
“I don't want to talk about it.”  
  
“Who's Gaster?” Undyne asked, confused.  
  
“We don't talk about him,” Alphys told her quietly. “He... Well... Was the royal scientist before me. He was really smart, but... He did a lot of cruel experiments... Even on his own children.”  
  
“Alphys, enough,” Sans muttered, but it was too late. The connection had been made. He could see it in her eyes.  
  
“That's sick. Wait...” Undyne turned toward him, the information clicking together like a puzzle, “Wait, was he your...?”  
  
“Yes. Gaster.” He spit the name.  
  
“Are you sure you don't wanna talk about it?” Undyne asked.  
  
He paused. “No. Not really. He... Just... I try not to think about it much.”  
  
Alphys and Undyne exchanged a look of concern.  
  
“Are you sure, Sans?” Alphys asked.  
  
He paused again, wrestling with himself over it. Finally, words came from his mouth. “I will. But you both have to promise to keep it to yourselves.”  
  
They did, and he began to explain the best he could.  
  
“Let's see... Uh... Gaster... Well... He was obsessed with humans, actually, more like obsessed with their determination. He'd found a way to extract it from a human soul, and succeeded. He studied its properties, and what kind of effects it could have on monsters. I was born shortly after his studies had begun, and so what better candidate for experimentation than his own son? He didn't tell anyone I was born at first. That way, if I was killed, no one would have to know I had ever existed.” He laughed. It seemed almost funny, like a joke. No one else seemed to find the humor in the situation. Their faces looked grim. But he was always known for cracking jokes, and laughing at wrong times.  
  
“Ahem, so anyway... I guess he figured I wasn't developed enough as a newborn to handle it, so he waited until I was two, until I had begun to walk. I don't really remember the first time he injected me with determination, but you can bet I was screaming and crying. Determination... It... It makes monsters melt. It takes all the power of your mind and then some to keep yourself together in a physical form. And the whole time there's just this pain... Everywhere... I don't... I don't know how else to explain it. Take the worst pain you can imagine and multiply it by a hundred...” A shudder went through him.  
  
“He called it training. I called it torture. Every day, I got a daily injection of determination. As soon as I was smart enough, or stupid enough, to figure it out, I started hiding when training time came near. He always found me, of course. He'd performed some experiments on himself, so he possessed some of the power I'd also been given. He would lift me off the ground with a wave of his hand, and carry me downstairs when I refused to go. It got easier, though. It still hurt, but I had grown used to it. I could keep it together easier. And then he started to train me in battle. I learned to dodge, and to fight. He gave me my blasters. They were my pets. I learned how to use my power, and by the time I was six, I could dodge any attack he'd throw at me, and I could fight back. But, of course, it had side effects. It sapped my HP, bringing it down to one. I used to have as much as Papyrus does. So it was good I had learned to dodge early on, as I then had no wiggle room in case I got hit.  
  
“He didn't stop, though. I got stronger. And then when I was seven, Papyrus was born. Heh. Happiest day of my life, I gotta say.  
  
'Meet your brother, say hi,' Gaster said as he'd passed Papyrus into my arms.  
  
'I think it's too early for Papyrus to be speaking,' I'd told him. Ha.  
  
“I vowed to protect him, no matter what. But the thought crossed my mind... What if Gaster decided he wanted another experiment? Would he use Papyrus? So when I hid, I took Pap with me. He never cried when we hid together. It was like he knew it was time to be quiet. It didn't do any good, though. When I was nine, and Papyrus had just turned two, Gaster told me it was time for training. By this point, I was pretty strong, and somewhere I got the bright idea that I should stand up to him. So I refused. I summoned my blasters, and prepared a few bone attacks... and so what did Gaster do? He picked up Papyrus from where he was doing a puzzle on the floor, and told me if I wouldn't train he would have to find another experiment.” He laughed again, Alphys and Undyne were exchanging looks of worry for his sanity. “Can you imagine. My little brother. All that pain I'd been having for years... Haha... I wouldn't... Couldn't allow it.  
  
“So we made a deal. He would leave Papyrus out of it, and I'd be a good little experiment. I went to training, I got to where I didn't need the injections anymore. But that pain just kind of stayed. I learned to live with it.” He hadn't noticed, but he'd summoned his blasters. They were a small size right now, able to grow at his will. He was petting them, absentmindedly, as though they were puppies. Sometimes they comforted him when he was nervous, he supposed it was one of those times.  
  
“I got to where I didn't need him anymore. He simply watched, gave me harder and harder tasks to accomplish. Tested my abilities. And then, when I was ten, he disappeared. I've heard a lot of things about what happened to him. I have some ideas. But for Papyrus and I, he just didn't come home one day. We waited a full month, before I let myself celebrate, and mourn. It was exhilarating, to be free. And yet we were devastated. We had lost a father, after all, and we didn't have a mother. Or at least, I never knew her. Neither did Papyrus. So now with a little brother to care for, I decided we were going to move to the farthest place from the Hotlands I could find. So we traveled to Snowdin. There was still a house there, from before he'd gone to Hotland. It had been cleared out of stuff, and we'd moved right in.  
  
“I gave Papyrus the big room upstairs, and I took the other. I sent him to school, and I took up jobs. As many as I could find to support us. Not a lot of people were willing to hire a ten year old, and when they were, they were mainly odd jobs, that didn't pay a lot. You know, shoveling driveways, watching kids, or pets... Stuff like that. But we got by. Juggling school and work wasn't easy. I was a bit of a slacker. I skipped school a lot. Always had the assignments done, just was working or sometimes taking a nap during class. It was a good schedule, once I got off work I could go pick up Papyrus from school and walk him home. After a while I quit school altogether, and learned at home when I had free time.  
  
“Papyrus suggested my sentry job, which was great, it didn't require a lot of effort, aside from showing up. A little boring, maybe, but it paid well. I did odd jobs along with it. Right now, let's see... I'm a sentry in Snowdin forest, and at a checkpoint in Waterfall, and Hotland, I'm a hot dog salesman... Oh and I perform at MTT resort sometimes. I'm thinking about going into the telescope business too. Seems like a lot, but after a while, it wasn't that hard to make ends meet. I was able to put money away, too. Emergency fund, in case we needed something.”  
  
He sighed. “After a while, I hardly even felt much pain anymore from the determination. It had settled, I guess. Now it's only when I use it. But I try to use it a lot. It gets better every time. So... I guess that's it. Kinda just gave you my whole life story, there. Sorry about that, I got carried away.”  
  
They sat in silence for a few minutes. He had never told anyone before. It felt good to have someone he could tell about it. It was like a weight was lifted from his shoulders.  
  
“Sans... I'm so sorry...” Undyne said quietly. “I didn't know.”  
  
Alphys looked especially upset.  
  
“What's wrong? You already knew about it,” Sans glanced at her.  
  
“I just... Never heard you talk about it before. And I didn't know everything.”  
  
Undyne cleared her throat, “So uh, Papyrus doesn't know?”  
  
“Nah, he was still pretty little, and he's forgotten like everyone else. Plus, we didn't keep him in the loop about what we were doing downstairs. We don't talk about it. He just figures I'm lazy. Which maybe I am. Eh, either way, as long as he's happy, I'm happy.”  
  
Alphys and Undyne still had somber expressions on their faces, mixed with pity. He hated when people felt sorry for him.  
  
“Hey, my childhood wasn't all bad. If you took away his experiments, Gaster would have been a pretty good father. He... He used to have movie nights with me, and we'd have snacks when I had a good day of training, or when I did well in school. And he used to read me joke books before bed every night.” he laughed a little, remembering how much he'd hated it. “I used to hate those stupid jokes. But then I figured out how to give them right back to him. Heh,” a feeling was starting to rise from his soul. Sadness. Memories he'd suppressed, things he hadn't thought about in years, or that he'd only let himself remember when he was alone in his room at night were coming to the surface. “The day he'd disappeared, it was almost father's day, and he'd told us he'd made a big breakthrough on his latest project. So I'd tried to make him a cake. Didn't turn out that great, mind you, but Pap and I were waiting for him to get home to surprise him. I made him a card, Pap drew him a picture... And then... He never came home. He was just gone.”  
The sadness was growing, and more and more memories were flooding to the surface. It was as though the dam keeping an ocean inside had been broken, and all the water was rushing out all at once. He tried desperately to plus it back up, but the more he tried to stop them from coming, the more they seeped past, into his head. Happiness, Sadness, Mourning, Longing, Despair, Fear, Anger... He had so many emotions all at once, he wasn't sure which one to use.  
  
“I-I have to go,” he stood. He just had to get out of here. If he was going to break down, it wasn't going to be in front of anyone.  
  
“Sans, wait-” Alphys had started to say, but he'd already shortcutted. He didn't really want to go home, but it was the only place he could go.  
  
He stood on the porch for a second, composing himself. He was able to stop the memories for now, plug up the holes, stop thinking about it. He forced a smile onto his face, as he scooped some of the snow away from the door, so he could open it enough to get inside.  
  
“Hey, I'm back!” he called. The couch was covered in numerous blankets, and chairs had been dragged in front of it. They'd made a fort. All the lights had been turned off, and the curtains closed. He took a step closer, and a pair of hands grabbed him by the ankles, pulling him underneath.  
  
“Nyeh heh heh! The Great Papyrus had captured you!” Pap grinned at him.  
  
“Hey!” Sans laughed a little. “What are you kids doing?”  
  
“We've been waiting for you! It's movie night,” Papyrus flipped up the front of the blanket, so that they could see the television. “We're watching a scary movie...”  
  
Sans picked up the case, it was some slasher movie he'd never seen before. “Papyrus, are you sure? The last scary movie you watched gave you nightmares for a week...” Sans leaned against the couch. He knew it would be pointless trying to talk him out of it, and he wasn't one to typically say no. Plus, it would be a good distraction, if nothing else.  
  
“Of course I'm sure! That was a long time ago. The human suggested this movie,” Papyrus put his arms behind his head. The kid leaned against him.  
  
“Alright,” Sans shrugged. Probably a bad idea, but, hey, why not?


	7. Comedian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys for the late upload, this chapter was a little rushed today.
> 
> Three links to the comedy sketches:  
> Doing Nothing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niVzkwfHf6k  
> Grillby's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23KLGzsIBuY  
> The One Thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU2JEZSrY3Q

The movie wasn't bad. The only part that bothered him a little was a scene where a demon kid was chasing a couple around with a knife. It almost felt like he'd seen it before, but he couldn't quite place where.  
  
The human yawned and stretched when the end credits rolled onscreen.  
  
“Not a bad choice, kid, I could find you some way better horror movies than that, though,” Sans chuckled, pulling a few DVD cases from under the television stand. “These are way scarier. We'll have to watch them sometime. Hey, Paps, you hungry?”  
  
Papyrus seemed lost in thought about something. “Huh? Oh yeah, sure,” he murmured absentmindedly. Seeming to come back to reality, he crawled from the mouth of the fortress and stood. “Alright, I'll make us some spaghetti.”  
  
“Sounds good, bro,” Sans stayed where he was, as the human picked up a deck of cards. They played Uno while Papyrus made dinner.  
  
“Sans, come here a second,” Paps called to him.  
  
“One sec, kid,” he stood and walked to the kitchen, stretching. The action made his spine pop a little painfully. Papyrus cringed.  
  
“Sorry bro,” Sans shrugged. “Can't help it. Yours never does that?”  
  
“No, I don't think that's normal.... It's probably because you're always asleep at your sentry station,” Papyrus gave him a pointed look as he stirred the spaghetti.  
  
“Heh, probably. Anyway, whadja need me for?”  
  
“Nothing really, just wanted to- wait, Sans?” Papyrus glanced at the time.  
  
“What is it, bro?”  
  
“Don't you have a show at MTT resort tonight?”  
  
Sans paused. He'd nearly forgotten, “Oh, yeah, haha. Thanks for reminding me. Hold on.” He slipped upstairs to his room. In a drawer was a calendar that marked his gigs and showtimes. Tonight he was scheduled at 11. Late show. But, hey, that's good. When you're tired, everything's funny. And... It was formal night. He sighed. Formal night had really only been specified for him. Generally everyone who performed there came dressed up, but it was typical for him to wear his regular shorts and jacket wherever he was.  
  
Grabbing his notebook, he returned downstairs, and groaned a little. “It's formal night.”  
  
Papyrus was scooping pasta onto plates, “That's fantastic. I'm glad they started having formal nights, it's an excuse for you to look presentable!”  
  
“Mmhmm,” Sans took a plate, returning to the couch with a sigh. “Hey, Papyrus, this spaghetti is pretty good.” It was true, Papyrus's spaghetti had improved a lot.  
  
“Thank you! I've implemented a new technique!”  
  
Sans started to think about his show tonight, a little anxious. He always got nervous before a show like that. Quick wit can only get you so far. He flipped through the notebook while he ate, through different comedy scripts he'd written that he could use. He selected three that he knew were killer. An opener about doing nothing, a story about Grillby's the first time he'd been there, and a story that was mostly true from a high school party he'd attended. Comedy Gold.  
  
His time slot wasn't too long tonight, he wouldn't have to prepare too much material. Setting his finished plate on the table, he stood.  
  
“Alright, I'm going upstairs to practice a little.”  
  
“Okay, Sans, we're going to play Monopoly!” Papyrus pulled out the game board.  
  
Sans ran over his routine several times, until he was confident he could talk without stuttering or fumbling over his words. It wasn't like he didn't know his scripts, he'd written them after all, and gone over them over and over again, improving them. He knew these stories like the back of his hand. The trick, though, was working through transitions between them. Once he felt confident enough, he decided it was time to get ready. Getting to the resort 30 minutes prior to your gig was mandatory.  
  
Digging in the back of his closet, he pulled out a suit he rarely wore. It would only made an appearance during funerals, weddings, or formal night. His shorts were replaced by black slacks, his shirt replaced with a white button down, shoes replaced by black dress shoes, and finally, a black jacket. He tied the black bowtie around his neck. Perfect. He always felt a little uncomfortable when he had to dress like this, mostly because people always seemed to make a big deal out of it.  
  
“Oh my god, Sans you look great! You should dress like that more often, it looks so much better than your jacket and shorts,” Papyrus grinned. The kid gave him two thumbs up.  
  
“Thanks, but y'know I don't think it really suits me,” Sans winked. The kid giggled.  
  
Papyrus groaned a little, “Save it for the show.”  
  
“Alright, I'm heading out in a minute,” he glanced at the clock. It was hard to believe it was already getting late. “Make sure you two get to bed at a good time, alright? I'll be home late. I'll come check on you when I get back.”  
  
“We'll be fine,” Papyrus waved him off.  
  
“I'll see you in the morning then, goodnight,” Sans waved as he left out the door. Once he was sure he was out of sight he shortcutted behind the resort, slipping inside. He avoided the crowd for the most part, only saying a quick hello whenever someone noticed him, and finally opened the door to the backstage hallway.  
  
“Oh, Sans, you're here,” Mettaton approached.  
  
Oh... Right... He was still trying to get used to the whole Mettaton Ex thing... It hadn't been that long ago that he'd been changed, but Sans probably needed to stop being surprised by it.  
  
“Oh, hey Mettaton.”  
  
“You clean up well...”  
  
“Uh, thanks?”  
  
“Guess we'll have to have formal night more often...” Mettaton winked.  
  
He laughed, pushing into the dressing room. It was really just a place to wait until it was time to go on. Meanwhile, he could look over his material, and... He patted around, searching for the notebook. He'd left it at the house. No matter, he'd just shortcut real quick and then...  
  
He was preparing to shortcut when there was a knock on the door. It was Mettaton. “Hey there, handsome.”  
  
He rolled his eyes. Mettaton flirted with everyone. “What's up, Mettaton?”  
  
“How's your brother doing?”  
  
“He's fine.”  
  
“Listen... We've known each other for a while now... I wanted to know if you wanted to have dinner with me tomorrow,” Mettaton grinned.  
  
“Oh, uh...” Awkward... Several thoughts ran through his mind at once. The first being that he very much did not want to spend an excess amount of time with Mettaton, and the second being that Mettaton had the power to make his life a living hell if he refused. He decided to take his chances. “No thanks, Mettaton, I'm sorry.”  
  
“Wait, what?!” He looked stunned. Did he actually think every monster in the Underground was just going to throw themselves at his feet...? Probably.  
  
“I'm sorry, you're uh... Not my type...” He didn't know how else to say it.  
  
“Oh really? What's your type then?”  
  
Not you, was the first thought to come to mind, but instead he blurted out the next thing, “I have a girlfriend.” Instantly he realized the stupidity of the statement. Nothing was further from the truth. And he was dreading the question that he knew would follow.  
  
“Oh... Who is it?”  
  
“Uh...” there it was. Ooooh boy. Mettaton was staring at him, waiting for a response. “We don't like to tell people. We're trying to keep it on the down low.”  
  
“Oh, that's so cute, worried I'll steal her away from you? Well you're right. It isn't often I've found a monster who can resist my charms!”  
  
“Uh huh... So yeah, I'll take a rain check on that whole date thing for now.”  
  
Mettaton glanced down the hallway. “Oh, you're on. “ As he approached the stage, Mettaton called after him, “I'll find out who it is! I always do!”  
  
Sans put the thoughts behind him, instead focusing on the task ahead: his show. He quickly ran over his thoughts, as he stepped on stage to cheers. Most of his friends from Grillby's were there, and a few of them catcalled him as he picked up the microphone.  
  
((If you'd like to know the three stories he'd tell, please watch the three videos located in the notes above. They're pretty funny, I recommend them.))  
  
Once he'd finished, the crowd cheered him off stage, and he leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the door, letting out a sigh.  
  
“Good job out there,” Mettaton told him, leaning against the wall opposite him in the hallway.  
  
“Thanks, I left my material at home. Luckily I've got a met-a-TON of them, huh? Heh.”  
  
“Oh ha ha. So... I was wondering...”  
  
“Mettaton!” Someone called down the hall. It was Burgerpants. Poor guy, stuck as Mettaton's assistant for the night. Sans would have hated the job, as he was sure Burgerpants must. “You have a call!”  
  
Mettaton sighed, “Nevermind, Sans,” and left to answer it. Sans slipped out the door as quick as he could. Lady Luck had decided to look favorably upon him, it seemed. He wouldn't have to deal with Mettaton's stupid crap tonight. Of course, he was sucked into numerous conversations with the crowd outside. It took a while for him to slowly work his way towards the door.  
  
When he reached home, he peered inside the house. The lights were all still on, but Papyrus and the kid were nowhere in sight, probably already off to bed. Turning off the lights as he made his way around the house, he left up the stairs, yawning towards Papyrus's room. His door was cracked. Sans opened it, and a bucket of water fell on his head.  
  
He cried out. “What the-?!”  
  
The bucket hit the ground with a clang, and looking into the room, Papyrus and the kid were sitting side by side in bed, clutching the blankets, wide-eyed in fear.  
  
“Did you two watch another scary movie?” Sans asked, half annoyed with the water, and half impressed that they'd booby trapped the door.  
  
“Maybe...” Papyrus gave a sheepish grin. “It was the human's idea!”  
  
The kid shook their head and pointed at Papyrus. They began to argue.  
  
“Look, I don't care who's idea it was,” Sans shrugged. “I mean, I didn't say you couldn't, I guess.” Sans stretched, taking a step out the door.  
  
“Aren't you going to stay with us?” Papyrus asked.  
  
“Yeah, alright, give me a minute,” he yawned, leaving for his room. Tossing the suit on the floor in a heap he pulled his tshirt over his head, and put on his shorts. Much more comfortable, he went back and collapsed on Papyrus's bed. It was a little crammed with all three of them there, but the kid cuddled up to him, and so did Papyrus, and he fell asleep quickly.


	8. Release

The following day wasn't an exciting one. Not a bad day, not a particularly good day. It was rather ordinary. They played games, and just hung out around the house. With it being just about time for his afternoon nap, Sans ushered Papyrus and the kid outside to play in the snow and make a snowman, while he stayed in, in favor of a shower, and then sleep once more. But he'd hardly even closed his eyes before his phone rang across the room, in his slacks from the previous night. He dug it out of the pocket, answering it, a little annoyed. “Hello?”  
  
“Hey, Sans, what are you doing?” It was Alphys.  
  
“Uh, nothing? Just taking a nap...”  
  
“Come to Undyne's, we're going to do some training.”  
  
“Oh, no thanks.” He wasn't really in the mood for hanging out.  
  
“Well, that's kinda not going to work... Undyne's already on her way to your place...”  
  
He could hear Papyrus coming upstairs, his voice a little muffled through the wall. “I'm not sure how Sans is about training, he doesn't usually want to... I'll ask him, though.”  
  
“You're dead when I see you,” Sans said into the phone, half-jokingly, grabbing his shorts from the floor and pulling them on.  
  
Papyrus knocked, pushing his way inside. “Hey, Sans, we're going to do some training, you should come with us. The human is off playing with some friends.”  
  
“I'll stay, thanks.”  
  
Undyne pushed her way into the room. He pulled his shirt on, covering his ribs. “Jeez, Undyne, give a guy a little warning!”  
  
“We're going, and you're going with us,” she commanded.  
  
“Let's go, Sans!” Papyrus picked him up, upside down, making he and Undyne both laugh as they rushed out the door.  
  
“Alright, bro.” It wasn't like he could do anything about it.  
  
They ended up in Undyne's yard. Alphys was already sitting on the ground outside of the house.  
  
“I'll watch,” Sans told Papyrus, and sat on the ground next to her.  
  
Papyrus and Undyne started their practice, and he nudged Alphys. “So why make me come to training practice today?”  
  
“Well... It's sort of Undyne's idea,” Alphys gave him a sideways look and hesitated. “She wants Papyrus to know.”  
  
That caught him a little off-guard. “Hang on, isn't it my place to tell him when I want to tell him?” He glared. A bit of anger rushed through him. “It's not your decision if and when he should find out.”  
  
“I agree. Just remember, he's not in any real danger here.”  
  
“Hey, Undyne, take it easy,” Papyrus told her. She was going all out. Sans knew exactly what she was planning to do. Was she really going to stoop so low as to nearly kill her own best friend?  
  
He clenched his fists, watching the battle before him. He was itching to step in, but he couldn't. Papyrus tried to spare her, to calm her down, but she was sending attack after attack at him. And they were hitting. Papyrus's HP was dropping quick.  
  
“Stop it, what are you doing?” Papyrus asked, dropping the bone he was using as a weapon. “Let's take a break.”  
  
“Undyne, stop!” Alphys cried out, rushing forward as Undyne pulled out another spear. She gripped onto the arm that was holding the blue shaft.  
  
Undyne glanced at Sans. He was rigid as a block of wood, fists clenched. His every movement screamed 'Don't you dare.' Then the spear was in the air. He moved without a second thought, pushing his brother out of the way.  
  
“What... Sans?” Papyrus was confused. “How did you get here so fast...?”  
  
“Undyne, enough. This isn't the time,” Sans told her, staying in front of his brother.  
  
“Why not? Now's as good a time as any.”  
  
“I don't want to fight you.” He said through gritted teeth, as she readied more spears.  
  
“Sure you do.”  
  
Alphys stood in front of Undyne, “That is enough. This was supposed to be training day, not kill your best friend day.”  
  
Sans screamed in frustration, “You're just like him!”  
  
That struck a chord. Seeming to realize what she was doing, Undyne dropped her spears, muttering an apology as she made her way towards the door to her house. Sans was relieved, but still angry. He'd said the truth, though. Trying to force him to fight... Alphys invited them over. He declined.  
  
“Hey... Sans, hold on, I need to check on Undyne,” Papyrus took a step towards the door, and Sans grabbed his brother's arm.  
  
“She's fine. C'mon, we're heading home.”  
  
“It's okay, Papyrus, I'll make sure she's alright,” Alphys offered. “She's had a rough day.”  
  
Sans was able to pull his brother away, and they were walking in silence for a few minutes, before Papyrus finally asked.  
  
“What was that all about?”  
  
“It's nothing, Undyne was getting carried away. That's all.”  
  
“It's nothing? Are you serious? Come on, Sans, that wasn't nothing. What's going on with you? You've been weird for several days and... You haven't even been making puns like you normally do. What's going on?” Papyrus was worried.  
  
“Sorry, bro. I didn't want to make you puncomfortable with my punny jokes.”  
  
Papyrus didn't answer. They walked in silence the rest of the way home. Sans tried to think through how to tell him, he'd thought about it so many times before, but... Somehow he wasn't sure quite how he was supposed to. They stepped foot in the door to their house, and Papyrus took to the kitchen to make lunch.  
  
The silence between them was constant, even when the kid came inside. It was as though there was a wall between them. Was Papyrus trying to punish him for not telling? Perhaps. All day Papyrus hardly spoke to him, until later that night, when the kid had already gone to bed, and Papyrus was watching a television show.  
  
“Paps?”  
  
“Hm?”  
  
“Can I talk to you?” He sat next to his brother.  
  
“Are you finally going to tell me what's wrong with you?” Papyrus gave him an encouraging smile, flipping off the television. “I've been waiting all day.”  
  
“Have you ever heard the name Gaster?”  
  
He clearly hadn't expected this, “Gaster? Uh... Maybe. I can't really remember. Why?”  
  
Sans hadn't been planning to tell him the whole story, just a little piece, but somehow it was as though it were impossible. He'd tried to tell just a little bit, but once he'd begun to talk, it was like he couldn't stop. Every thought, every word, everything he had of the memories came forward. Even things he hadn't told Alphys and Undyne, good memories, bad... Everything. He must have talked for an hour straight. Before he knew it, he was crying, and Papyrus was hugging him, and maybe he was crying too, Sans wasn't quite certain. Someone knew. He wouldn't have to hide it anymore with Papyrus.  
  
He knew.  
  
“I'm so sorry,” Papyrus was telling him, his shoulders shaking. “I thought you were worried about something, or you had a nightmare that freaked you out, or...”  
  
“I'm sorry you found out... I didn't want to tell you at all,” Sans confessed.  
  
“Sans... I know you hide a lot from me. I want you to know... You can tell me anything. I can handle it. I... Wish I'd known sooner.”  
  
“I'm sorry.”  
  
They let go of each other, after a minute each lost in their own thoughts about the whole thing, neither knowing what to say to the other. Sans had taken to staring at the wall. They sat in silence for a few minutes. He thought for a second his brother had fallen asleep, until his voice broke the silence.  
  
“Sans?” Papyrus asked quietly.  
  
“Yeah, bro?”  
  
“So this man... Gaster... Was our father?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“What... What was he like?”  
  
Sans paused. “What do you mean?”  
  
“You told me what he did wrong, and some good memories, but... That means he wasn't all bad, right? Was he... Was he a good father?”  
  
“Heh...” He thought about it. He did have fond memories from back then, though he'd suppressed many of them. He usually tried not to think about the past. “Yeah. If you took away his experiments, he would have been a great father.”  
  
Papyrus stared at him, waiting for him to go on.  
  
“Let's see... He made a lot of jokes, like me. You know how I read you bedtime stories most nights? Well he'd read joke books to me. Worst jokes I'd ever heard. I was like you at first, though. I hated them.”  
  
“Wait, wait, YOU hated puns?!”  
  
Sans laughed. “Yeah, I did. After a couple years, though, I learned how to make them too. Gave it right back to him. Oh, and you know what his favorite food was?”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Pasta. He loved it. Woulda liked your cooking, I'm sure. I can imagine the pastabilities. You know what else he liked?”  
  
Papyrus ignored the joke, “What?”  
  
“Puzzles. Guess that's two things you got from him, huh? You actually look like him too, so make that three.”  
  
“I do?”  
  
“You do. You look a lot like him. When you wear your glasses, you look like his double sometimes,” Sans laughed. Papyrus rarely wore his glasses, but Sans had freaked himself out numerous times before when he thought his father was sitting in the living room, before realizing who it actually was.  
  
Papyrus went quiet for a second again. “Did we have any... other family?”  
  
“Heh. We did. Hey Papyrus?”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“Want to see something cool?”  
  
“Okay.”  
  
Sans took Papyrus out back.  
  
“Sans what are we doing out here?”  
  
“Trust me,” he took the key from his pocket, unlocking the back door.  
  
“Didn't you lose that key years ago?”  
  
“Nah. Come on in,” he pushed the door open, flipping on the light.  
  
“Whoa. I didn't know we had this whole room...”  
  
“This was his lab, before he went to the Hotlands.”  
  
Papyrus looked around, staring at the blueprints on the table. His eyes eventually landed on the machine in the corner. “What's...?”  
  
Sans uncovered it, revealing the broken machine. “It was supposed to be a time machine, and then it became a machine to transport you to different dimensions in time. Gaster... He used it, and... the machine broke. I think he's gone.”  
  
“Do you think you could fix it?”  
  
“Maybe. But if I did... I don't know.”  
  
“Do you think there's still a chance he could be alive?”  
  
“... It's possible, I suppose.” Sans reached into the first drawer, withdrawing the photo album from inside. “Hey, Papyrus, come and look at this.” He covered the machine again with the sheet.  
  
“Where did you get that?”  
  
Sans laid the book open. “I took it with us, when we first came here. You probably don't remember. We had lots of family.” Sans pointed to the first picture. “See? That's Gaster.”  
  
Papyrus stared at the photo, intrigued. There were a few of Gaster, and friends from the lab. Sans flipped the page. There were a few baby pictures of him, and a few growing up.  
  
“You looked happy. I don't think I've ever seen you that happy before,” Papyrus flipped the page.  
  
“Maybe not. Hey, see those people there?” he pointed at a picture with he, Gaster, and a large group of monsters. “Those were his lab friends, we were all like a family. For a while.”  
  
“What happened to them?”  
  
“They died. A few fell down. But hey, look,” he flipped the page. “See that?” he pointed at a picture. “That's you.” He pointed to a ton of pictures of Papyrus as a baby, and several of Gaster and Sans holding him.  
  
“That's me?”  
  
“Yep. You were so tiny, tiniest little skeleton I'd ever seen,” he chuckled. “There's lots of you in here. Gaster let me borrow his camera, I went a little nuts with the pictures.”  
  
He flipped the pages, ending with a family picture. Papyrus looked happy, as did Gaster. Sans, too, was smiling, though he could see in his eyes it wasn't real.  
  
“You got sadder,” Papyrus mumbled. “You started happy, and then you got sad.”  
  
“I guess so. You always stayed happy, though, and I'm glad about it. You only cried when I made puns,” he winked, but Papyrus looked upset. “What's wrong? I thought you'd want to see these pictures.”  
  
“No, it's not that,” Papyrus turned away from him. “I just... You were always there for me. Even now, you can always tell when something's wrong, but... I... I don't see how I never noticed... Your eyes have dark circles under dark circles, and they're always sad and tired and...”  
  
“Papyrus, stop it. I'm fine.”  
  
“Are you?” Papyrus turned to face him. “Because I don't think you're fine, I think you're pretending you're fine.”  
  
“Papyrus... Heh,” he sighed. “I'm fine, really. I've been dealing with this for years. It's just a lot to take in at first. C'mon, we'll talk more tomorrow. Let's go to bed.”  
  
Papyrus agreed and went to bed, Sans, too retired to his room, staring at the ceiling above, mind swimming with thoughts. Papyrus had wanted to know if he was fine or pretending.  
  
“Fine?' he whispered to the dark emptiness of his own room. “I've been pretending so long I don't even know what fine is anymore.”


	9. Doppelganger Dilemma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking about swapping to Papyrus' view every here and there.
> 
> ((P.S. Can I just say I freaking love Swapped Paps?))

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Papyrus stared at the ceiling for hours, thoughts rushing through his head. He tried to push them away, tried to make them subside, but... no luck. Instead, they whirled around in his skull like the tornado of trash in Sans' room.  
  
Gaster, the scientist who'd experimented on his brother.  
  
No, but there was more to it than that.  
  
Gaster, their father who'd experimented on his brother.  
  
How? How could anyone do that to a child? How could a father justify doing that to his own son? And then, to threaten to take his other son as a replacement when he tried to refuse...  
  
He felt nauseated.  
  
But even worse... How had he never noticed before? He'd always thought he knew his brother better than anyone else. Sans had always been there, Papyrus had no time in his life where he didn't have his big brother. They helped each other, told each other everything, or, at least he thought they had. Of course, Sans hid things from him from time to time, they both did, but he never expected something this extreme.  
  
How had he never noticed?  
  
Papyrus never thought about how much his brother must have worked to pay for this house. The idea had simply never crossed his mind before. He knew it had to have been a whole lot, but he hardly saw that side of his brother. Sans was always waiting for him to get out of school, always making sure he was alright, and always knew when something was bothering him.  
  
So then why had he never noticed?  
  
The dark circles, under dark circles surrounding Sans' eyes. Always tired, always sad... Was it insomnia? Was his brother asleep even now? He wondered. Is it depression? Abandonment? A culmination of all three?  
  
Why? Why was he so stupid?! To not notice these things about his own brother. He should have noticed, should have known something was wrong. Pressing his hands to his eye sockets, he quickly realized there were tears there.  
  
Where had those come from? He wasn't quite sure. He didn't know when he'd started crying. Hadn't noticed, too distressed to be concerned with it.  
  
But the most horrible thing of all...  
  
It was his fault.

  


 

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


 

  


Sans tried his best to go to sleep. He couldn't. He laid there for hours, waiting. It was typical. Sometimes he slept at night, and sometimes he didn't.  
  
Instead, he laid on the couch, and turned on an old science show he used to watch when he was younger. The science behind why monsters did this or that. They weren't bad, and actually pretty entertaining, even now. Papyrus came downstairs just before sunrise.  
  
“Morning, bro, you're up early,” Sans watched as Papyrus, still in his pjs, sank onto the couch beside him.  
  
“I didn't sleep much.”  
  
“Oh, really? Why?”  
  
He shrugged. Sans didn't press him. They sat in silence, neither having anything to say to the other.  
  
“Did you sleep at all?” Papyrus asked.  
  
“No,” he answered honestly. He could tell Papyrus was bothered by it, but there wasn't anything he could do to make it better. “I'm fine.”  
  
“Would you stop saying that?” Papyrus snapped a little. “You're not fine.”  
  
“I am fine,” he said a little more firmly. “Papyrus, that was a long time ago.”  
  
There was a pause.  
  
“Hey Sans?”  
  
“Hm?”  
  
“You should fix that machine.”  
  
That caught him off guard. “What? Paps, why... Why would you ask that?” He'd thought about it for years, ever since Gaster had disappeared. What could happen, what he would do... He hadn't ever tried it though, he'd always been too afraid that he'd mess things up.  
  
“I just... I just feel like you should. I think you should see him again. Make peace with him.”  
  
“Papyrus, hold on. That's... That's crazy talk. I don't even know if I can even fix that machine, or if he's even still alive!”  
  
“Then try. Try to fix it.”  
  
“No way. You're half asleep. Go back to bed.”  
  
“Then let's make a bet.”  
  
He almost laughed. When they first lived alone, when it was just the two of them, they used to make bets. When one of them wanted the other to do something. He used to bet Papyrus all the time that he couldn't clean his room before he got back from the grocery. Another popular one was to make the most disgusting foods they possibly could for the other. The winner got to pick the loser's punishment, or the winner's prize, their choice.  
  
“What kind of bet?”  
  
“Hm... I have plenty of ideas.”  
  
“Each make the other disgusting foods, and whichever one can't finish it loses?” Sans suggested.  
  
Papyrus made a face, “Definitely an option. Though you know I'd win.”  
  
“Psh, not a chance.”  
  
“Then I guess it's been decided.”  
  
“Stakes?”  
  
“I win, you have to fix the machine.”  
  
“And if you lose, you can't talk about it ever again. AND you have to walk down the street in your birthday suit,” he winked.  
  
“Deal. I won't lose,” Papyrus grinned.  
  
“I serve breakfast in 15 minutes,” Sans stood. “As an added challenge, how about you can only use what we have in the house?”  
  
“Got it.”  
  
They shook hands. The bet was on. While Papyrus went upstairs, he scoured the kitchen for ingredients he could use to make the most disgusting breakfast possible. He decided on a smoothie of... He peered in the fridge. Mustard, old spaghetti, a waffle, some macaroni and cheese, two raw eggs, with the shells, and four ice cubes. It would be enough to make anyone sick.  
  
“Whoa, are you using the whole kitchen?” Papyrus stared at the ingredients.  
  
“Oh, dear brother, I'm making you a delicious smoothie. Just look, I have some of your fine spaghetti...” it fell to the bottom of the blender with a sickening plop. It was several months old. “Some mac and cheese, and a waffle...” Papyrus already looked a little green. “Two eggs.” He didn't even bother cracking them. “Four ice cubes to keep it cold, and to top it off, a nice helping of mustard.” Sans could practically see the green covering his brother's face as he started the blender.  
  
“Playing dirty, I see.”  
  
“Did you think I would play nice?” Sans poured the brown mixture into a tall glass. It smelled terrible. “Bone appetite,” he winked.  
  
Papyrus stared at the mixture, and Sans was sure he'd won right there. There was no way.... His mouth fell open as Papyrus chugged the whole thing.  
  
“Piece of cake,” Pap was shaken, as he set the empty glass on the bar. “Now it's my turn.”  
  
Sans cleaned out the blender with magic, as Papyrus took ingredients from the fridge, adding them to the blender one by one. “Let's see. Spaghetti, of course. Let's have three eggs. Oh and I know! You love hot dogs, don't you? Your favorite. Let's add a few.” Papyrus tossed two hot dogs into the mix, with buns. “But you need toppings!” He added relish, ketchup, and a pile of mustard. “I know how much you love mustard, so I'll add plenty.” Sans made a face. “Oh! And to top it all off, I have a secret ingredient.” He dug in the back of the fridge, and pulled out a small bottle. “Hot sauce, of course.” Where he'd gotten hot sauce, Sans had no idea. Neither of them ate it. He tipped it out, pouring the remainder of the container into the blender. “And of course, plenty of ice.” He tipped the ice box, filling the blender the rest of the way with it.  
  
The blender made a crunching noise as it worked its way through all the ice.  
  
“Here you are, brother, enjoy.” Papyrus poured a tall glass of the reddish-green abomination, handing it to him, watching with a smug grin on his face.  
  
He was smart, Sans would give him that much. Papyrus had added enough ice that it wouldn't be possible to chug it down fast the way he had done. And the hot sauce made it smell spicy.  
  
“You could save yourself the trouble, brother, and just go work on the machine...” Papyrus winked.  
  
“What, and miss out on wiping that little grin off your face?” Sans took a spoon from the drawer. “Not a chance.” He took huge scoops of the icy mixture, and ate it as quick as he dared to avoid the dreaded brain freeze. It didn't help. With a terrible taste in his mouth, and a terrible pain in his skull, he finished it. His mouth still burned.  
  
“My turn,” Sans dug in the fridge. He took another container of old spaghetti, added a hot dog with bun, and mustard, relish, ketchup, all the fan favorites. A frozen pancake, with syrup and butter, two raw eggs, and finally, a little coffee mix on top, for no particular reason. “Here you go, bro, it's breakfast, lunch, and dinner all in one. Oh! Almost forgot!” Sans dumped the concoction into the blender, adding plenty of ice, as Papyrus had done before. The resulting mixture looked like something from a horror movie.  
  
Paps took a spoon, and shuddered as he ate. “This is terrible.”  
  
“Isn't it?”  
  
“I'm impressed.” Paps said, as he swallowed the last bite, “But I have something much better...” he grinned.  
  
Usually, Papyrus was one of the sweetest monsters Sans had ever known, as he'd known since he was born. But somewhere deep within his soul, Papyrus did have a bit of an evil streak inside him. It was rare that that evil streak ever saw the light of day, and even rarer for it to be directed at him. But the grin on his brother's face was like the devil himself.  
  
“Hey, brother, if you can get past this next one, I'll give you the victory,” Papyrus dug in the fridge, towards the very back.  
  
“One dish? I can do that.”  
  
“Even you can't handle this one,” Papyrus withdrew a container, pulling open the lid. The smell of what was inside was like something had died and rotted a very, very long time ago.  
  
“Oh my god, what IS that?!”  
  
“The very first spaghetti I cooked with Undyne.”  
  
“That was years ago! You were, what, 7?”  
  
Pap winked. “I forgot it was in here, Nyeh heh. Probably should clean out the fridge soon. Care to give up now?”  
  
Sans shuddered. “What exactly DO you keep in the back of the fridge?!”  
  
“All the things I don't want you to find. Alright, here you go, then.” Papyrus handed him a fork, holding out the container. “Go for it. Bone appetite,” he mocked.  
  
Sometimes Sans wondered if his brother was the spawn of the devil. He speared a bite on the end of his fork. One bite, and he was vomiting into the sink. He'd pondered for a long time if skeletons could vomit, he hadn't thought it possible. Nope, it was definitely possible, and it was definitely unpleasant.  
  
“The Great Papyrus is once again victorious!” Papyrus pumped his fist in the air. “Are you okay?”  
  
“Fine, I'll fix the stupid machine. But that doesn't mean we have to use it, okay? I'm not sure if I can... you know.”  
  
“It's okay. C'mon, I want to watch you do your sciency stuff.” Papyrus followed him to the back door.  
  
“There's not going to be much to watch at first, I'm going to just be planning. You should invite Undyne to hang out or something.”  
  
“Okay, if you're sure, Sans, just call for me if you need me, I'll be around.”  
  
He had to admit, he was a little relieved Papyrus had gone for the idea. He couldn't do much in the way of science under too much pressure. The pressure was already high enough with the risk of failure and destroying the machine (or possibly himself... Or possibly the universe...) without trying to succeed in front of an audience. He locked the door, and pulled the sheet away from the metal masterpiece Gaster had created.  
  
It wouldn't be too difficult to fix. Just some pieces that needed to be repaired here and there... Thoughts had already crossed his mind of how he could fix the different parts. So he let instincts take over. He could probably do it in a day. With a ball of flame in hand, he welded together the cracking spots across the front. It took a few hours to get the metal back in prime condition. He rewired some things in the back, replaced a few dials...  
  
The funniest thing about his reparation of the machine was that he wasn't even sure quite how he was doing it, he just did whatever his instincts told him to do, half wondering if the thoughts were even his.  
Papyrus knocked on the door a few times. Sans ignored him, in favor of continuing his work. He spent all day, his hesitation and fears giving way to the scientific side of his mind. It was rare for him to put this much effort into anything, and he didn't even really want to, but it was like this hunk of metal before him was his greatest dream and yet greatest burden. It didn't feel right and at the same time it did. He had mixed emotions, the thoughts coming to mind of how to fix it and how to destroy it. They wrestled for control.  
  
And then, as though it had taken the blink of an eye, it was finished. The door to the half-dome shape still closed, the switch on the front in the off position. Pride flooded his system, as did fierce anxiety. He was then overwhelmed by the almost uncontrollable urge to flip the switch. He wanted so badly for it to work, and at the same time he hoped desperately it would fail. He put a hand on the switch, removing it quickly. He stopped, dropping his tools. He needed a break. The door now locked behind him, he slipped outside the house.  
  
Papyrus and Undyne were attacking a snowman army, sending bones and spears flying across the yard.  
  
“HEY SANS, WATCH OUT!” Undyne called, as a spear flew his way. He jumped over it. She stood in front of him, folding her arms. “Hey listen, I'm uh... I'm sorry about everything. I got carried away, and I should have left you alone about all the stuff you went through.”  
  
“Thanks,” he tried to act like he was listening, but his mind was on the machine behind the back door.  
  
“So, we cool?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“Hey Undyne,” Papyrus called, sending a bone attack right into Undyne's back. “Never take your eyes off your target, remember?”  
  
“Hey, that's cheating!”  
  
“It wasn't me, it was the snowmen!”  
  
They squabbled for a few more minutes, until all the snowmen had been defeated, and crumbled before Undyne headed home for the night.  
  
One she was gone, they were free to talk. “Sans? Are you okay? You missed lunch and dinner, and I was worried...”  
  
“Yeah, fine. It's uh... It's done.”  
  
“Really? Can I see?”  
  
“Let's talk about it tomorrow, okay? I'm tired.”  
  
Papyrus seemed a little put out by his lack of excitement, but agreed to let it go. Sans wasn't even hungry, he just crashed on the couch almost as soon as he'd walked in the door.  
  
He slept restlessly, waking up when it was still night. He glanced at his phone- it read 2:17 AM.  
  
He made a few microwaved waffles for an early breakfast, thoughts on the machine outside. How he both longed to use it, and also to destroy it. He stared at the clock, pleading it to go forward, and to stop altogether. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.  
  
“Psst, Papyrus. Wake up,” Sans shook his brother awake.  
  
“Nng, Nyeh? Sans, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare? Here, you can sleep with me.” Papyrus asked sleepily, scooting over to make room for him.  
  
“What? No. Come with me.” He grabbed his brother's hand, pulling him from bed. “It's time to use the machine.”  
  
“Really?” Papyrus snapped out of his sleepy state instantly. “Wait, wait, let me get dressed.”  
  
“Hurry.”  
  
Papyrus made record time, he couldn't have taken more than a minute.  
  
“Papyrus?”  
  
“Yes? Impressed with my fast dressing?”  
  
“Your boots are on the wrong feet.”  
  
“Nyeh?!” He fixed them quickly. “Okay, let's go!”  
  
They stood in front of the machine for a minute, the door safely locked behind them. He'd been so eager to get here, and yet now that it was time, he was hesitant.  
  
“Sans?”  
  
“Sorry bro, I was just...”  
  
“Do you want me to do it?”  
  
“No. I've got it,” he stepped forward, one hand on the switch.  
  
It flipped almost on its own. The machine hummed to life, the door to the dome sliding open, revealing a glowing blue portal within. It swirled and spun, it's motion utterly mesmerizing.  
  
“Wowie...” Papyrus took a step closer.  
  
“Papyrus, don't get too close-” Sans started to say, gripping his brother's arm. But it was too late, the portal's surface broke, and they were sucked inside.  
  
“SANS!” Papyrus screamed, as they were ripped apart by the current of nothingness. It was as though his worst nightmares were happening right then and there. Papyrus in trouble, possibly dying, and he could do nothing about it.  
  
Why had he brought his brother along...?  
  
Sans couldn't see anything except darkness. The current was speeding up, and there was a sudden light. The force caused him to slip unconscious.  
  
When he snapped awake, the first thing he realized was that he was lying in snow. A quick look around revealed he was in Snowdin, in the forest. Second, he had no recollection of how much time had passed. He knew the machine was unpredictable, he could have been unconscious for a few hours, months, or even years, trapped in some comatose state in nothingness. He shivered at the thought. He sat up as quick as he could.  
  
“Papyrus?” he called. Nowhere in sight. “PAPYRUS?”  
  
A series of “What if” questions filled his head. What if Papyrus was dead? What if he'd somehow erased his own brother from existence? What if his brother ended up like Gaster? Would he become another suppressed memory that Sans tried not to think about? What if... Panic was rising in his nonexistent throat.  
  
“... Sans?” the voice came from behind him, and he felt intense relief at having heard it. He could have cried.  
  
“Paps, I...” he whirled around and froze. Standing in front of him was Papyrus, but... It wasn't. He was wearing a red hoodie, and shorts, and smoking a cigarette.  
  
Several thoughts ran through his head at once. The first being that Papyrus was smoking. His little brother, who he thought would never even touch a cigarette or anything of the like... And the hoodie and shorts, was he trying to imitate him? Was he going through a phase? How long had he been gone?! He'd really messed up... He shouldn't have brought him... Now... Was this reversible? Papyrus was staring at him with an odd expression.  
  
“Uh, Paps, I...”  
  
“Sans, I think we might need to talk about-” Papyrus sounded concerned.  
  
“Papy! Papy!”  
  
“Sans! Sans!”  
  
The voices rang behind them, both familiar. Running forward was Papyrus. HIS Papyrus.  
  
“Sans! You won't believe it!” Papyrus was going on and on about something, but Sans wasn't really listening. He wrapped his brother in a hug.  
  
“Oh god, it's you. I'm so relieved, heh heh...” He hadn't messed up. Papyrus was still him. He'd been so worried. The other Papyrus had looked the same way he did when he looked in the mirror. Broken, sad, tired... It wasn't real.  
  
“Sans? Are you crying? What's wrong?' Papyrus looked at him worriedly.  
  
“I'm sorry, bro. I just thought I'd lost you.”  
  
Sans released his brother, glancing over at the other Papyrus and... Him? They seemed to be having a similar conversation.  
  
“Wowie, I can't believe I'm meeting my own doppelganger,” Paps grinned.  
  
The other Sans bounded towards him. He was dressed in a gray tshirt, with a blue cape and boots. A lot like Paps, except in blues.  
  
“Wow, so you're me, huh? I can't believe it! Why are you dressed like my brother? Is it because you can't find an amazing battle body like mine? Well, don't worry, I can help you make one! My brother and I made mine for this awesome costume party a few weeks ago, isn't that awesome? So I guess we have to figure out a nickname for you, huh? Since both of us are Sans it'd be silly not to! Can you imagine, someone saying 'Hey Sans!' and then we'd both turn around and go 'What?' Mueheheh, that would be hilarious! Some of my friends call me Blueberry, we can stick with that if you want, but...” he went on and on...  
Sans was still struggling to register the fact that he suddenly had a twin. What's worse, though, was that his twin seemed to be his opposite. Geez... The other Sans was a little annoying. He couldn't imagine himself ever being that energetic and happy.  
  
“Sans, the other me is appalling,” Paps groaned. “He won't stop smoking!”  
  
“Oh yeah? Well main version of me F%#$ing stupid,” the other Papyrus snapped, his features flooded with annoyance.  
  
“Sans, I'm scared!” Paps took a step back.  
  
“Papy!” Blueberry looked horrified. “Don't be rude! What's wrong with you?”  
  
Sans didn't even think, he was already between them. “What did you say to my brother?” he let his pupils disappear. He was itching to fight, for some reason. Perhaps he just wanted an outlet for his frustrations. Or perhaps it was because this other version of his brother seemed to be a real jerk, who needed to learn some manners... Or both.  
  
“Papy stop!” Blueberry ran towards his brother.  
  
“Sans, calm down!” Paps put a hand on his shoulder.  
  
“I said he's F%#$ing stupid,” the other Papyrus grinned, looking down at him. “What are you going to do about it, short stuff?”  
  
“Don't talk about my brother like that,” He hadn't felt a rage like this in a long time. No one was allowed to mess with his Papyrus. This other one... Wasn't Papyrus, simply an impostor. Sans could feel his power radiating through him from his skull, could feel the familiar pain as his left eye turned aflame. The impostor's own eyes turned dark, and his right began to glow a bright orange. He cast the cigarette into the snow.  
Sans sent a bone attack at his enemy. Papyrus sidestepped, avoiding it.  
  
“That the best you can do?” Papyrus sent one back. Sans barely had to jump.  
  
“Hardly.”  
  
They went back and forth, their brothers yelling at them to quit. Every attack was predictable, being the same one he would have used. The blasters were summoned simultaneously, as though they were thinking from one brain. The blue and orange beams crisscrossed, but never once did either of them get hit. They were equally matched.  
  
They were both growing exhausted, sweat beading on their skulls, until, finally, they gave up, sinking into the snow in exhaustion.  
  
“Hmmph,” Impostor-Papyrus muttered. Blueberry ran to his brother.  
  
“Sans, are you okay?” the real Papyrus sat in the snow next to him.  
  
“I'm fine. Just tired. I've never fought anyone who could tie with me in a fight before.”  
  
“Yeah... Hey Sans? Thanks... For standing up for me,” Papyrus hugged him. “Also, that fight was so cool.”  
  
“Yeah? By the way, other you is a total psychopath.”  
  
“Other me is just like you,” Papyrus winked.  
  
“I don't see it.”  
  
“You don't? I do.”  
  
“I'm not that much of a jerk, am I?”  
  
“... Well... Sometimes. When you get too stressed out or worried.”  
  
“Psh.”  
  
“I mean, you don't smoke. But other than that, there aren't many differences between you.”  
  
“What about other me? You like him?”  
  
“He taught me how to make a taco, and he likes puzzles, he's pretty cool. I'm going to teach him how to make spaghetti.”  
  
“Huh... Bro? I hate to break it to you, but I think we might be stuck here a while. I don't know what happened with the machine.”  
  
“I'll be okay, I already made a new friend. You, on the other hand, need to make one.”  
  
“We'll see,” he glared at the other Papyrus, standing up and brushing the snow from the front of his sweatshirt.  
  
“Don't hold it against him. You'd say things like that too if you were worried about something.”  
  
He remembered how he'd felt when he'd first seen the other Papyrus, that feeling that his brother had suddenly become a stranger, that he'd messed up, that he'd lost him. He wondered a little if the other Papyrus had felt the same way. He stood, as the doppelgangers strolled over.  
  
“You guys can come stay at our place with us!” Blueberry was practically bouncing up and down.  
  
“Yeah,” the other Papyrus seemed less than happy.  
  
“Thank you, that's very nice of you,” Pap grinned.  
  
“Oh please, it's the least we can do after SOMEBODY woke up on the wrong side of the bed today,” Blueberry looked pointedly at his brother, who didn't give a response.  
  
Blueberry and Paps led the way talking excitedly about tacos and spaghetti, and the potential for spaghetti tacos, while Impostor-Papyrus and Sans followed behind them, walking a good five feet apart, each keeping their hood up and head down to avoid eye contact with the other.  
  
“So it's decided, then,” Blueberry jumped on the porch to face them, “Paps will stay with me in my room, and Sans can stay with Papy in his room.”  
  
“Sans, I don't think-” the other Papyrus started to tell him what a bad idea it was.  
  
“C'mon Paps, let's go to my room,” Sans grinned before other Papyrus could talk, and he and Paps disappeared upstairs.  
  
The other Papyrus, Sans had decided to nickname him P for short, was a complete stranger to him. It was his brother, and at the same time it wasn't. P opened the door to his room- Sans's room in his house. It looked almost exactly the same as his room at home, except for the pile of trash in the corner, which was not yet a trashnado.  
  
“Sorry for the mess,” P collapsed onto his bed, leaning against his blankets, which were in a huge ball, exactly the way Sans himself slept.  
  
“Nah, my room is the same.” Sans sat cross legged on the floor, against the wall, picking up a joke book from the floor. He was half expecting a quantum physics book to be concealed inside. But it was just an ordinary joke book, which he'd read before. Slightly disappointed, he put it back.  
  
They sat in silence, Sans staring at the wall, Papyrus staring at the ceiling.  
  
The silence was almost overwhelming, growing and growing with each second.  
  
They could hear Blueberry and Paps in the other room, laughing about something.  
  
“So how exactly did you guys get here?” P eventually broke the silence. “I gathered something about a dimension-traveling machine.”  
  
“Yeah. It took us here.”  
  
“Hm.”  
His mind had begun to fill with questions. Things were opposite, yet the same here. What was the same and what was different? Did this Papyrus know about... him? Gaster? Did Sans? He didn't feel comfortable asking though.  
  
“Hey, I'm uh, I'm sorry about that whole thing back there,” P said apologetically. “I was a jerk.”  
  
“I understand. I'm usually pretty good at making friends. I guess it's harder when it's your brother,” Sans offered.  
  
“I usually am too. But you're not my brother.”  
  
“But at the same time I am.”  
  
“Yeah. It's weird. I know you, but at the same time I don't.”  
  
“Close, yet complete strangers.”  
  
“Glad to see someone understands.”  
  
There was one thing they agreed on.  
  
“I wonder how Sans and the other me take it so well,” P muttered, almost to himself. “I can't wrap my head around it.”  
  
He tried to crack a joke, “Right there with you. It really BROTHERS me.”  
  
P chuckled a little. “You like jokes? My Sans doesn't. They make him PUNcomfortable. Though, I think he actually thinks they're pretty funny.”  
  
He laughed. “My Papyrus hates them. I always used to practice with...”  
  
“Asgore?”  
  
That caught him off guard. “King Asgore?! No! Toriel!”  
  
“Queen Toriel?! No way, I couldn't see it... Did you seriously go all the way to the castle to tell a few jokes? Was it really that hard to get someone to listen?”  
  
“Psh, nah. I guess it wasn't just us that was switched. In my world, Toriel lives in the ruins, and King Asgore is in the castle.”  
  
“Wow.”  
  
“And it's not hard to get someone to listen to my jokes. I perform at MTT resort all the time.”  
  
“MTT?”  
  
“Mettaton. Y'know, on all the big screens? Star of the underground?”  
  
“Only big time star we have down here is Napstabot. He's a DJ.”  
  
“Napstablook and Mettaton are switched?”  
  
“I guess so. Heh. Undyne made Napstabot a body to pursue his music-making career.”  
  
“Undyne is the royal scientist? … Then is Alphys...?”  
  
“Alphys? She's the head of the royal guard. And Sans's best friend.”  
  
“Wow.”  
  
“Do you have Muffet's back in your world?”  
  
“MUFFET'S? That spider-lady?”  
  
“Uh, yeah?”  
  
“What about Grillby's?”  
  
“Grillby...? That weird fire guy in Hotland?”  
  
They went down the list of everyone they knew, with their respective counterparts.  
  
“I have to ask. Do you... What about... him? Gaster?”  
  
Papyrus tensed, voice dropping to an almost silent whisper. “You know about him?”  
  
“Was he the same in your universe?”  
  
“I don't remember him much. I was still pretty little when he'd disappeared.”  
  
They went silent for a few minutes.  
  
“I'll tell you my story if you tell me yours,” P said quietly.  
  
“Deal.”  
  
“Okay, so... Long story short, he experimented on my mother. It made her really weak, so she died in childbirth. When I was born, I had possessed the determination she'd been given. He tried a few experiments on me when I was still little, before he disappeared, and god, were those painful... He quickly discovered that it had carried over from his original experiments. He disappeared before he could do much with it. So I kinda learned on my own over time how to control it. Sans... He was always the favorite, you know, the first born son and all. So Gaster left him out of it. But when I was born, heh. He blamed me for our mother's death. What more perfect candidate for experimentation than his own son? A dirty mother killer. Sans doesn't talk about it much... Anyway, what about you?”  
  
“He used me as his experiment. From the time I was two to when he disappeared. It... Wasn't good... I refused after a long time, when I thought I was strong enough to fight him. He threatened to take Paps and... I couldn't let that happen. So I didn't fight him on it. Paps was... Well, we didn't keep him in the loop. I never knew our mother, though.”  
  
“I don't think my Sans did either. He never talks about her, at least. I think it was almost a secret for Gaster.” They went quiet for a minute.  
  
“Paps found out yesterday, er...” he paused. “Yesterday in my world. Who knows how long ago that was.”  
  
“My brother found out pretty quick after we moved over here. He blamed himself for it, like he should have known what Gaster was doing.”  
  
“How was he supposed to have known? If you couldn't tell him, and Gaster didn't... Well, it would have been impossible for him to find out.”  
  
“He didn't get that. I don't know, I guess he thinks he should have been the one or something. It really bugs me.”  
  
They sat in silence for a few minutes, their unease giving way to a sadder air.  
  
Sans rolled to the side, as a bone suddenly hit the carpet right where he'd been.  
  
“Just wanted to see if I could catch you off guard. Never met someone before who could match me in a fight,” P laughed, changing the subject.  
  
“Be careful, we only have 1 HP.”  
  
“Plus a ton extra from sleeping. You're fine.”  
  
“Heh.” Sans paused for a minute, mind wandering elsewhere. “I guess that's why I always try to protect Paps. I don't... Don't want him to turn out like me.”  
  
P gave a small laugh. There was pain in it. “I've never heard a more relatable statement in my life.” P pulled a box of cigarettes from his pocket, holding it out to him. “Want one?”  
  
“No thanks, I don't smoke.”  
  
“Why not?” He stuck one in his mouth, lighting it.  
  
“Paps wouldn't like it.”  
  
“Yeah? Do you always let your little brother tell you what to do?”  
  
“You ARE my little brother.”  
  
“Psh. No I'm not. I'm his clone.”  
  
“Papy?” Blueberry knocked on the door, pushing it open. “Hey, is... Hey, I thought you said you weren't going to smoke in the house anymore!”  
  
“It's my room, bro.”  
  
“Put it out!” Blueberry snapped.  
  
“Alright, mom,” P tossed it out the window, into the snow.  
  
“Good, Papyrus and I are going to go back towards Snowdin forest, he's going to help me with my puzzles!”  
  
“Have fun,” P told him.  
  
“Hey, Paps,” Sans stood, walking over to his brother. “Be careful, alright?”  
  
“Of course, Sans!” Paps waved, heading for the door.  
  
“Keep an eye on my brother, would you, other me?” Blueberry waved as he followed Papyrus.  
  
“You do the same!” Sans called, before flopping back onto the floor.  
  
Once they were gone, Sans burst into laughter. “I guess I know who wears the pants around here, huh?”  
  
“I'm glad he's made a friend,” P mumbled, ignoring the comment, as he took the cigarettes from his pocket again. “Sure you don't want one?”  
  
“Nah, I'm fine.”  
  
“C'mon, don't knock it till you try it.”  
  
“Fine, geez. I will if you'll shut up about it.”  
  
Sans wasn't typically one for peer pressure, but he'd had a particularly stressful day, and one wouldn't kill him. He selected one from the box, sticking it in his mouth and lighting it. He had smoked once before, just to try it. He'd put it out quickly, worried Paps would think it was okay. He felt a little better about it now, though, that Paps was out of the house.  
  
“I don't really see the appeal,” he finished the cigarette, removing it from his mouth and watching it burn out.  
  
“No? Try another.”  
  
Sans shrugged, and lit another one. He watched the wisps of smoke travel to the ceiling, and disappear into the air. They sat in silence for a while. He felt better for now, but he did have the thought in the back of his head that it could escalate if he weren't careful.  
  
“Wanna see something cool?” P asked.  
  
“Sure.”  
  
P blew a smoke ring at him. “What did I tell you? Not bad, huh?”  
  
“Psh, I can do better,” With the help of a little magic, he blew a smoke heart.  
  
P blew back a smoke fish.  
  
A smoke skull followed.  
  
They went back and forth, sending smoke chains.  
  
“Hey, you wanna see something else that's pretty cool?” Sans asked.  
  
“Sure, whatcha got?” P watched him with mild interest, as he stood, walking over to the pile of trash in the corner of the room.  
  
With his magic, the trash began to spin, as he slowly removed his magic from the process, and... “Taa Daa, a self-sustaining trashnado.”  
  
“Dude, that is awesome,” P laughed. “My brother is going to hate it.”  
  
“Mine does too,” he grinned.  
  
P wasn't so bad when you got used to him. Sans would without a second thought call him a friend at this point. Not his brother, but his friend.  
  
“Hey, wanna play a game?” P asked.  
  
“Like what?”  
  
“Truth or Dare?”  
“Sure. Haven't played in a while.”  
  
“Okay, so Truth or Dare?”  
  
“Eh, I'll go with dare.”  
  
“Dare?” P gave an evil grin. “Okay, I dare you to... Stand on your head.”  
  
He chuckled, doing so against the wall, “Best you can come up with? Truth or dare?”  
  
“Surprise me.”  
  
“I dare you to run outside in your birthday suit.”  
  
“What? Dude, c'mon.”  
  
“Sorry, that's the dare. You going to chicken out?”  
  
“Nah, I never back down from a dare. I'll walk around the house outside once.”  
  
“Go for it, dude,” Sans laughed, watching from upside-down as P opened the door, his sweatshirt falling on the ground. Sans righted himself, when Blueberry was suddenly standing in the doorway.  
  
“Papy, we made spaghetti-tacos and-” Blueberry paused, taking in the scene before him for a second, then turned a bright blue as he blushed. “What are you DOING?”  
  
“Hey, what's wrong-? OH MY GOD, OTHER ME PUT A SHIRT ON,” Papyrus screamed from downstairs.  
  
P shrugged. “It's truth or dare.”  
  
“Forget the dare, you got caught,” Sans laughed. “Put your shirt on, you weirdo. No one wants to see your ribs.”  
  
P posed. “Oh please, I look fantastic. Don't act like you're not jealous.”  
  
Sans started laughing, Blueberry shook his head, a small laugh escaping him, though he tried not to, “You're so weird.”  
  
P pulled his sweatshirt over his head. “Spaghetti-tacos? Sounds good.” He nudged Sans' side once Blueberry had gone downstairs to fix plates, muttering, “Tacos are all we seem to eat in this house.”  
  
“Well, spaghetti is the only thing Pap knows how to cook.”  
  
They exchanged a laugh.  
  
“Hey, maybe they'll be good,” P shrugged, exiting the room.  
  
It was true, the spaghetti-tacos weren't bad. Not particularly good, but they weren't inedible.  
  
“Hey, listen,” P glanced between the new skeleton brothers. “I think we might need to come up with a plan, until we can figure out how to get you guys home. It'll freak people out if there's suddenly two Sanses and Papyruses walking around.”  
  
There was a sudden boom as the door was kicked open. If any of them had had skin, they would have jumped out of it.  
  
Alphys stood in the doorway.


End file.
